Statements of the CII

ISLAMABAD: The recent statement of the chief of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) on the issue of second marriage by a man that he needn’t seek his first wife’s permission suggests that the organisation is unable to distinguish between a law and the procedure to carry out the law in a specific situation. For instance, the consent of a girl is usually sought at the time of nikah, which means that by and large, she will have to go along with the marriage even if she does not want to, so as to avoid any embarrassment to her family in the presence of a large number of guests. Furthermore, seeking consent of the first wife is a procedural matter, which has not been prohibited in religion.

Don’t we need to change this procedure so that asking for consent makes for an easier situation for brides? Many eminent jurists, including Justice Javed Iqbal, Asma Jahangir, Justice Nasira Iqbal and Justice Majida Rizvi, have pointed out injustices towards women in cases of rape, divorce, custody of children and inheritance. As for child marriages, the CII has ruled that the consent of the girl married as a child be sought on acquiring maturity. The question is: would the girl disagree to the marriage at such a belated stage when she has already been locked into a forced marriage?

Dr Najeeb A Khan

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2014.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.