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| July 06, 2006 | Thursday | Jumadi-ul-Sani 9, 1427 |
Civil society for repeal of Hudood laws
ISLAMABAD, July 5: The civil society organisations here on Wednesday called on the government to repeal Hudood ordinances instead of amending, what they called, a set of black laws in the history of Pakistan.
“Over the last more than two decades, we had been fighting hard to get rid of Hudood ordinances introduced by a despot just for his personal interests. Therefore, total repeal is the only way out and those who talk about amendments, are actually supporter of these laws,” women activists representing various civil society organisations said at a press conference.
“We don’t know that why government has asked the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) to review these laws, because it’s a fact that they were irrational and have nothing to do with Islamic injunctions,” they said.
The Hudood ordinances, and other discriminatory legislation, such as Qisas and Diyat and the Law of Evidence, were promulgated by late Ziaul Haq as part of his political agenda of so called Islamization.
These laws have been opposed by women rights and human rights groups because of their discriminatory nature against women, minorities and the poor, they said.
During the 27 years that these laws have been in force, they have proved to be unjust, and have caused much suffering to women, mostly those belonging to the lower strata of the society, they said.
The inquiry commission on women set up by the Senate during the Pakistan People’s Party’s government, Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid Report, and the National Commission on the Status of Women instituted by the present government, have all recommended repeal of Hudood laws.
It is only now after two-and-a-half decades of advocacy by human rights groups and the sufferings of thousands of innocent women who have languished in jail, that the government has finally publicly recognised the discriminatory aspects of the Hudood laws. The Council of Islamic Ideology, which recommended this legislation in 1979, has now acknowledged that some of the clauses of Hudood laws are in conflict with the spirit of Islam.
The government has prepared a draft bill for amending the Hudood laws, which is to be discussed in the next parliamentary session. No amendment will make these black laws acceptable to the civil society because the entire set of laws have so many lacunas.
Therefore, it is up to the parliament to repeal these law forthwith and if government feels that the country should have some legislation in this regard, then it should be done.
Representatives of Actionaid, Pattan Development Organisation, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Women Action Forum, Sungi Development Organisation, Aurat Foundation, Rozan, The Network, Poda, Bedari, and SDPI were present on the occasion.
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