KARACHI, August 29 2006: Women Rights Protection Bills has become controversial and public opinion has turn against it. MMA and the religious groups have out rightly rejected and declared it un-Islamic. The MMA leaders in a meeting here at Nishtar Park on Sunday, said that people had rejected the bill. No Muslim in Pakistan would ever endorse such a Bill, they said. The Musharraf government is following the US agenda to convert Pakistan into a secular state, against which every citizen will act as a “deterrent force”; they joint opposition MMA and ARD leaders declared.
They said that the proposed package of amendments to the Hudood Ordinance was a revolt against the “Holy Qur’aan and Sunnah” and took pledge from the participants to resist any change in the Islamic laws and vowed to wage war against “anti-Islamic laws”. They said imperialist and Zionist forces were all set to eliminate the entire Muslim Ummah from the world, warning that any action against Islam would be resisted.
Secretary General Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Iqbal Haider has said that Women Rights Protection Bill was passed in hurry in National Assembly as private bill is just eyewash.
It may serve any purpose to the politicians who wanted to shine their images. It is hypocritical, misleading and just it hoodwinks the people. As a matter of fact, unless the Hudood Ordinance is repealed there would be no betterment of women. Talking to The Nation, he said that if the government was honest it should have frankly titled it as Hudood Ordinance Bill 2006. Secondly, he said, mere few provisions in this bill do not provide the protection that is needed by 52 percent women population in our country.
The issue and need of the hour is that to repeal the Hudood Ordinance promulgated with nefarious aims by the worst tyrant General Zia ul Haq with malafide motives to exploit Islam for his vile and selfish interests as well as the religious sentiments of the innocent people of Pakistan, he asserted. He emphasized that government has only moved the bill and there is no certainty whether the proposed amendments will ever by passed by the parliament.
The timing of presentation of the bill is also very objectionable as it exposes the real motives of the government to create rift and division among the opposition parties rather than to amend the undesirable provisions of the Zina Ordinance, he observed.
Ms Shamim Kazmi of Business Professional and Agricultural Women Forum said that the Women Rights Protection Bill was drafted in a hurry as it has many ambiguities. It is not clear whether an FIR would be lodged against a woman who commits murder or either she would be sent to jail. She proposed that since it was a legal matter so the bill might be sent to the experts working on the women rights issues because it is incomprehensible for the common man.
Though all the imprisoned women had been released in just one go but what would happen in the long run. She said that main hurdle facing the jailed womeen for their release in grant of bail, as most of the womeen could not arrange the amount required for surety. If a womaen needed Rs10, 000 for bail surety and she could arrange only Rs5000 so from where come the remaining amount. The question arises here is that whether the government would provide a subsidy to these needy women? Ms Kazmi further said that certain criminal gangs were using the men for drug peddling so whether the women would be sent to jail. She suggested that Darul Aman should be strengthened and the women who were implicated in crimes should be sent to Darul Aman and a magistrate should be deputed who precede the cases in the Darul Aman in a month or so.
Sindh Minister for Women Development Dr Saeeda Malik has underscored the need for more foolproof legislation to counter instances of exploitation of men under varied pretext. She said an efficient strategy is required to obtain due rights of women at all level besides ensuring their appropriate representation in different spheres and walks of life. Sindh Department of Women Development is accelerating its efforts to get approve Working Women Hostel project and initiate work on it as early as possible, Dr Saeeda Malik said.
She mentioned that the Department has emerged to be first to run “Day Care Centre” for kiids of working mothers, at public sector level in any of the four provinces. A doctor along with well-qualified and trained caretakers is available at the center to look after children while their mothers are in a position to acquit their professional responsibilities with maximum concentration and ease, she maintained.
Source: The Nation
Date:8/29/2006
