April 3, 2006	Monday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 4, 1427

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HYDERABAD, April 2: Speakers at a seminar at the Sindh museum on Saturday condemned feudal lords for labelling murders of women as karo-kari without determining whether they were killed to settle any enmity, gain pecuniary benefit or settle a matrimonial dispute.

They were speaking at a seminar to mark the launch of a movement against karo-kari by Oxfam titled “We can do it”.

The former chairperson of the National Commission on Status of Women, Justice (rtd) Majida Rizvi, presided over the meeting.

Justice Rizvi said that though Islam had given right of choice to women regarding marriage yet death sentences were passed by feudal lords in jirga.

She agreed with a speaker that woman was considered a commodity notwithstanding the fact that such concept was more stronger in pre-Islamic age and that in post-Islamic era women were given right of inheritance, right of choice in marriage and parity in all respects.

She said that the Constitution gives equal rights to women and despite the fact that the government had done so much through parliament then why still thousands of women fell prey to karo-kari or honour killings cases.

She called for creating a will among state institutions and commitment of implementation on the part of police force when it involves question of enforcement of writ of various laws.

She said that it was unjustified that father, son and brother was made wali in such matters instead of wife, mother or sister.

She called upon the government to amend honour killing law and added that it was impossible as long as feudal lords were sitting in parliament to protect their vested interests and to subjugate vulnerable segments of the society.

“The present honour killing law was quite harmless yet hurdles were raised in its passage. We do not need feudal lords in parliament we need those who could redress our grievances”, Justice Rizvi said.

“Even members of judiciary have their own biases because they are members of the same society and their mindset is reflected in their orders when they hear cases of women, deserting their homes. They consider such women as of dubious character despite the fact that they have to adjudicate the case in the light of particular circumstances, forcing her to part company with her family”, she argued.

She said that a woman believed in sanctity of her family and resorted to extreme measures only when situation got out of her control.

Sindh women development minister Dr Saeeda Malik called upon political forces to unite against karo-kari because fragmented approach would not serve purpose.

She took credit for the government for introducing legislation against women’s discrimination and said that in foreign countries such legislation was only in name while in Pakistan and Sindh it had been defined as murder.

“Women’s empowerment is directly linked with change in cultural, social and economic changes of women. Their literacy rate needs to be raised to change the mindset of family and society”, she observed.

PPP MPA Humera Alwani said that Sindh owed its culture to Bhittai’s poetry and karo-kari had nothing to do as custom with Sindh.

“Isn’t it height of injustice that deceased women are not even given a respectful burial”, she regretted and said that women should be proud of their womanhood.

She said that when she protected a girl of Gambat against karo-kari she herself was declared a kari and added that people of Sindh had no respect for Sindh Minister Manzoor Panwhar who proudly claimed to have settled 400 karo-kari cases.

“People of Sindh are harbingers of change and her party is with them to change the mindset. Women of Sindh want to die a respectful and natural death as they could not even think of committing a moral crime”, the MPA said.

Noted writer Fehmida Riaz, AIGP Fida Hussain Mastoi, Wahida Bux Bhayo and Nisar Khokhar also spoke on the occasion.