Pakistan: Protection at the cost of freedom
Source:
South Asia Citizen's Wire Women no longer need to produce four witnesses when filing rape charges or fear they might be convicted of adultery, yet the Bill is accompanied by an anti-lewdness clause and the Hudood Ordinance will operate alongside the civil procedure.
Despite the minimal changes, the MMA has been enraged by the immorality of the whole procedure, with Maulana Fazlur Rehman asserting that Pakistan will now be turned into a 'free-sex zone'. What a shame that we can no longer rape women and accuse them of adultery. Not in Pakistan!
Don't worry, the MMA is here to safeguard our morality. They will tell us what to do, how to wear our trousers, trim our beards, and go after the infidels.
The Women's Protection Bill (WPB) that was passed by the Senate on November 24 is no more than a symbol of the lost freedoms that might be achieved and regained. Everything Pakistan lost in 1977 is still buried deep beneath the sand. Voices muted for over a decade have lost the ability to speak out, to reason, and are still recovering after being mentally crippled by General Ziaul Haq and his equally hegemonic legacy.
It is obvious that people should not be subjected to religious law -- as it is civil law does not treat us equally. But when religion is interpreted by manipulative bigots such as the MMA and laws are enacted under regimes such as that of Ziaul Haq, his eerie chuckle still resonating throughout the corridors of power in this country, then the result will most certainly be the suppression of freedom and our private rights as human beings. The MMA want to enforce, not promote morality, there is a difference. As it is, universal judgements of morality are problematic. Who is to judge what version is correct. By enacting morality, we are subjecting ourselves to constant policing and scrutiny.
This is why the WPB is little more than a farce. Musharraf could have repealed the Hudood Ordinance once and for all. But instead, through the anti-lewdness and remaining Hudood clauses, the law, alongside the military, will still govern our private lives. The question that needs to be asked if that why does the ruling party seem to be so earnest in wanting to meet the demands of the MMA? Is it because not doing so would further erode the government's write in Balochistan and the NWFP?
We all know that this law was not passed to protect the women of Pakistan. Instead, it was a convenient way of propping up the country's international image. Nations are judged by the way they treat their women and Pakistan has long found itself at the bottom of the barrel. This scale has been produced through history and every eastern society has been hypocritically subjected to it. If the establishment really cared about the plight of Pakistan's women, or the people in general, symbolic laws such as these would not be the way to correct past mistakes. It is obvious that women are regarded as no more than property by the religious zealots that comprise the MMA and as political mileage by the military establishment.
For its part, the MMA has succeeded in ensuring that it passed the Hasba Bill in the NWFP, which allows it to unleash the moral police on the residents of that province. How long before that moral police comes knocking on your door? Who needs freedom anyway, at least our GDP is rising.
The writer has worked at the Herald previously. Currently he is a student based in Toronto.
by Saad Sayeed, The News International
November 28, 2006
The Women's Protection Bill (WPB) that was passed by the Senate on November 24 is no more than a symbol of the lost freedoms that might be achieved and regained. Everything Pakistan lost in 1977 is still buried deep beneath the sand. Voices muted for over a decade have lost the ability to speak out, to reason, and are still recovering after being mentally crippled by General Ziaul Haq and his equally hegemonic legacy.
It is obvious that people should not be subjected to religious law -- as it is civil law does not treat us equally. But when religion is interpreted by manipulative bigots such as the MMA and laws are enacted under regimes such as that of Ziaul Haq, his eerie chuckle still resonating throughout the corridors of power in this country, then the result will most certainly be the suppression of freedom and our private rights as human beings. The MMA want to enforce, not promote morality, there is a difference. As it is, universal judgements of morality are problematic. Who is to judge what version is correct. By enacting morality, we are subjecting ourselves to constant policing and scrutiny.
This is why the WPB is little more than a farce. Musharraf could have repealed the Hudood Ordinance once and for all. But instead, through the anti-lewdness and remaining Hudood clauses, the law, alongside the military, will still govern our private lives. The question that needs to be asked if that why does the ruling party seem to be so earnest in wanting to meet the demands of the MMA? Is it because not doing so would further erode the government's write in Balochistan and the NWFP?
We all know that this law was not passed to protect the women of Pakistan. Instead, it was a convenient way of propping up the country's international image. Nations are judged by the way they treat their women and Pakistan has long found itself at the bottom of the barrel. This scale has been produced through history and every eastern society has been hypocritically subjected to it. If the establishment really cared about the plight of Pakistan's women, or the people in general, symbolic laws such as these would not be the way to correct past mistakes. It is obvious that women are regarded as no more than property by the religious zealots that comprise the MMA and as political mileage by the military establishment.
For its part, the MMA has succeeded in ensuring that it passed the Hasba Bill in the NWFP, which allows it to unleash the moral police on the residents of that province. How long before that moral police comes knocking on your door? Who needs freedom anyway, at least our GDP is rising.
The writer has worked at the Herald previously. Currently he is a student based in Toronto.
by Saad Sayeed, The News International
November 28, 2006
