KARACHI, Dec 28: Leaders of civil society organisations at a seminar on “Domestic violence against women and children” highlighted the issue of growing incidents of domestic violence and called for a specific law to ensure an effective check on the menace and stern punishment for offenders. The seminar was organised by an NGO, the Aurat Foundation.

They said that a couple of bills relating to the issue pending a debate in the National Assembly should be taken up, updated and passed on a priority basis as soon as a new assembly took shape and embarks upon legislation.

Justice (Retd) Shaiq Usmani, expressing his views said that although the bills were by and large comprehensive as they were prepared after commendable efforts, a few improvements were needed to be made. He, however, stressed on the will and determination to implement such laws in letter and spirit.

He suggested that the proposed law should provide for immediate relief to a victim of domestic violence through a court of law once the complaint approached one.

He also suggested that the head of the family be held responsible for domestic violence and steps be taken against him so that he could ensure that violence did not continue.

Justice (retd) Majida Rizvi, the former chief of the National Commission on Status of Women, said that cases relating to domestic violence be heard in family courts, which could be given magisterial powers for such cases, rather than by a court of a magistrate, as had been suggested in the proposed bills.

She said that a lot of details of the bills had been based on a similar Indian law and these dealt with various issues like sexual abuse, economic abuse, stalking etc and suggested stern punishments for the violators. She suggested that dowry-related violence be also included in domestic violence.

She said that during her tenure in the NCSW a similar recommendation had been sent to the law ministry but to no avail, she added.

Anis Haroon of the Aurat Foundation said that the consultation was being held to get input from various stakeholders and these would be sent to the government so these could be reviewed and included in the bills pending in the national assembly so that effective laws could be formulated to specifically deal with this menace.

She said that two bills on the issue had been moved in the former national assembly and these were sent to a sub-committee, which had joined both the bills and formed one bill, which had been sent to the national assembly for discussion so that a law on the issue could be formulated.

She said that the government had formulated various laws, and also amended the constitution when it wanted, but non formulation of a law on this serious issue that affected half of the population showed the absence of the political will.

The organisers also gave some data on domestic violence in the province during the year 2007 and said that over 403 women had been murdered, while 306 people – 196 women and 110 men -- were murdered under the pretext of karo kari; while four women were raped and murdered; 53 incidents of rape and 43 or gang rape were reported.

They said that over 124 women had committed suicide while 148 others had attempted to commit suicide; 158 women had been kidnapped, 66 had gone missing and 137 had sought shelter. They said that while the Sindh High Court had declared holding of jirgas as illegal but 90 jirgas had been held on women-related issues.

Former senator Tanvir Khalid, Saleha Ather, Khalida Qadri, Lala Hassan and others also spoke.