Rethinking our rights

It is the responsibility of our lawmakers to take women rights issue seriously

Currently, the Council of Islamic Ideology is under heavy criticism for its statement that a man can slightly beat up his wife. This wasn’t an unusual statement as the council members have uttered statements of similar nature, on several occasions in the past; many of them ignited uproar in media headlines.

This time conversely, the political and social environment in the country was shaken up by the murders of three young women in Abbottabad, Murree and Lahore — all in the name of “honour”. Fathoming the sensitivity of the issue, the council members preferred to observe their silence rather than engaging themselves in counter arguments.

For the first time in parliamentary history, the senate suspended its proceeding for few minutes to sensitise society and enlighten them on the dignity and importance of respecting women.

Some politicians asked for urgent adoption of a bill against honour killing whereas others criticised the delay in approving the bill. But the subject continues to be limited to verbal blows; no practical steps have been taken yet. Though the bill has been passed unanimously in the senate, it could not gain approval from the joint session. The reason? It could be a consensus issue or a bargain deal between political parties — only time will tell.

Many such brutal incidents have happened in the past which generated debate over the viciousness hurled against women but sadly, it all soon died down, leaving an almost permanent negative impact on Pakistan’s credibility, internationally.

Murders of women in the name of honour in Pakistan have broken all previous records of our societal brutality. Initial investigations revealed that the motive behind all three murders was the fact that these women stood up for their rights — an action their religion permits.

Ambreen was set alight in an alleged honour killing by a so-called tribal council for helping her friend marry a man of her own choosing; Maria was doused with petrol by a group of narrow-minded scoundrels and set on fire for refusing a marriage proposal; and what happened with Zeenat? She was burnt alive allegedly by her own family — could it get any worse? In the absence of a carefully defined law against honour killing, we cannot hope that the culprits involved in the brutal murders would be punished.

It is the responsibility of our lawmakers to take this deplorable issue seriously and play their part in building a consensus and formulating a bill — that is, if they wish to avoid such brutalities in the future.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2016.