Unforgivable delays

It is increasingly clear that for Pakistani parliament, women rights issues rank low down on its list of priorities

It is increasingly clear that for the Pakistani parliament, women rights issues rank low down on its list of priorities. No number of reports on rape and murder of women have been able to budge those in the power corridors to pass pending legislation on rape and ‘honour’ crimes. It was in July that a special parliamentary panel unanimously passed the anti-honour killing and anti-rape bills, which were scheduled to be presented in a joint sitting of parliament in the first week of August. But the political logjam over the Panama Papers has, again, put these crucial bills on the back-burner. There always appears to be some hurdle or the other that comes in the way of pro-women legislation; sometimes it is opposition from religious parties, at other times it is objections of the Council of Islamic Ideology, and then there are times when there is no better reason than the disinterest of the ruling party, as appears to be the case now.

The failure to pass these laws is akin to criminal negligence on part of the government. Following the ‘honour’ killing of Qandeel Baloch, Maryam Nawaz had stated that the government would be passing both bills soon, but even a case as shocking as Qandeel Baloch’s murder, has not pushed the government forward on the matter. This complete disinterest is across the board. It’s been eight months now since the National Commission on the Status of Women, a statutory body responsible for the empowerment of women, has been dysfunctional because the authorities have failed to appoint its chairperson. The commission was established to examine laws and regulations on women’s development and rights, but has not been working since its last chairperson completed her tenure. All these are clear signals of how little the government cares for what it obviously considers the less important half of the population. In absence of these laws and a near-suspended women’s rights body, women’s lives continue to have little value and their murders easily ‘forgiven’. The government must remember that every time it delays the passing of these laws, it only smears blood on its hands.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2016.

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