February 15, 2004

Women are still very much at the receiving end of social injustice. And blind justice is not being very helpful either

HERE is how a person, especially a woman in this country, can qualify as a victim of domestic violence. She has to undergo a recurring spell of physical bashing, verbal abuse, usually undertaken by a spouse (in most cases the word spouse denotes a husband), and nearly approaching death to meet the criteria of domestic violence. Any signs to the contrary would invalidate or rather dilute the occurrence of domestic violence because the term has no legal locus standi. It need not be inferred that an ordinary person has no recourse to law so far as violence is concerned. It is only in combination with the term ‘domestic’ that it becomes a legal nonentity.

Instances of combating domestic violence in a court of law are woefully few, as are cases registered under this title. If a victim of domestic violence manages to conjure up enough courage to turn to law for help, the police instantly assume the role of a stumbling block. Majority of cases, instead of facilitating the victim they refuse to so much as register an FIR!

“We don’t know under which section a case of domestic violence should be booked. We are not trained to deal with that. I think there is no provision in the law to protect a person against domestic violence. I don’t even know what domestic violence means. Why should the police interfere in the internal matters of a husband and wife?” admits an ignorant policeman on conditions of anonymity. He calls it an ‘andaruni muamala’ (an internal matter) to be resolved by the mia (husband) and the biwi (wife). “It is people like you who complicate matters. Why shouldn’t a husband beat his wife if she does something wrong? Aap parhay likhay log masla kharab kartay hain (you educated people make matters worse). A husband has total rights to his wife. She must be doing something wrong to get a beating,” reasons the policeman.

Fareeda Shaheed, a human rights activist says that to a great degree women play the part of protectors of domestic violence, especially when it comes to in-laws. “In that way they are supporters of patriarchy. For many years we have considered domestic violence to be a private matter,” she says. She centres her arguments on the premise that violence in general is tolerated by society at all levels. “Our entire society is full of violence. We bring up our children by beating them. We treat our domestic servants and workers badly. We’ve internalized violence to an incredible degree that it has become a part of our daily lives.”

According to the statistics given by Ms Kamila Hayat, editor of the Human Rights Annual Report, published and compiled by the HRCP, around 80 per cent of cases of domestic violence occur each year in Pakistan. “These include not just instances of physical violence but verbal abuse as well,” comments Ms Kamila Hayat. “In another study conducted by a group of NGOs, in the last five years, around 5000 burns cases took place in the city of Rawalpindi alone. Now, these figures might not be completely accurate, but they do give a fair picture of the percentage,” she said.

According to her, from January to August 2003, 35 cases of domestic violence were registered with just one case of conviction. “In all, there were 500 burns and domestic violence cases in 2003. I do think we need to repeal all the ordinances adversely affecting women,” states Ms Kamila Hayat.

Though the instances have reached a high level of occurrence, the city of Lahore could not remain unaffected by what happened to Mona.

Twenty-year-old Mona (called Bisma by her husband) was brought to the Mayo Hospital in an unconscious state by her mother. This time the usual beating-bout of her husband had gone too far. He clobbered her head with an iron rod and left Mona at her mother’s house in Pir Makki, near the Data Ganj Bakhsh area. “This was the first time he had brought her to my house six years of marriage,” says the mother fraught with the concern for her daughter’s security.

According to a team of doctors and medical experts who examined and treated Mona, she was brought to the hospital on January 6th in a semi-comatose condition. Relating the doctors’ report, Ms Saleema Hashmi, vice chairperson of the HRCP, Punjab, said that the young woman’s breathing level was below the minimum medical requirement. “Dr Kaleem told me that usually it is six, but in Mona’s case the level had gone down to a frightening level of four. The doctors also said that she was hit with a blunt instrument in her private parts,” revealed Ms Hashmi. Mona was kept on a ventilator for 12 hours till her breathing returned to normal.

“I don’t want to go back to him,” says Mona hoarsely. She is now living at a refugee centre for women. “It’s a text-book case of domestic violence, and sadly so in a country built on Islamic values. Nobody wants to talk about it because everybody thinks it’s between a man and his wife,” states Ms Hashmi.

Mona’s back and parts of her body bear fresh marks of deep bites, cigarette burns, hot-metal and other unspeakable offences committed on a human body by another human being. “He would often beat me up with his belt for no reason at all,” reveals Mona. Moved my sadism, Mona’s husband, Imam Baksh or Toni as called by everyone, would not only enjoy her pain but would laugh at her every time she cried or writhed in pain. “He’d say that I’m lying about feeling the pain and laugh,” says Mona.

This time too, the reason was trivial. “I was changing my three-month-old daughter’s nappy when Toni said that I was not doing it properly. It took off from there,” recalls Mona.

Doctors at the Mayo Hospital informed the HRCP about the case which was immediately taken up by Ms Asma Jehangir. Whatever her critics might say, it is women like Ms Jehangir who have raised these issues to be taken seriously. On behalf of Mona’s mother, Ms Asma Jehangir registered an FIR, under section 324 of the PPC, at the Qila Gujjar Singh police station. “Asma will be sending a fax to the chief minister and other relevant law enforcing agencies to provide Mona and her mother with police protection,” discloses Ms Hashmi.

Mona’s husband, Imam Baksh, has still not been apprehended, while Mona’s step-father is threatening her mother with divorce if she is not sent back to her husband. “I’ve told him that he can divorce me, but I will not let my daughter suffer again. I want her to live,” says the mother defiantly.

That just happens to be one of the many countless cases and not every Mona is legally fortunate to have the country’s top advocate by her side. An urgent requirement is a legislation to prevent people like Imam Baksh from using their spouses as experiments in torture. And to make that legislation effective it is important that it be supplemented with strict implementation. The law enforcers need not wait for the passage of a legislative bill to arrest Imam Baksh. His crime falls under a ‘cognisable offence’ of the Pakistan Penal Code, derived from the 1860 Indian Penal Code Act XLV (45).

PREVENTION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE BILL 2003: The revised draft of the Prevention of Domestic Violence Bill, 2003, was presented on November 20, 2003. The hurriedly drafted bill has not been passed yet and is referred to a standing committee of the Punjab Assembly. While it is essential to acknowledge the significance of the bill, it should not come with blanket approval.

“I do believe that it’s a great step forward, but the bill is problematic. The kind of bill we would like to see on violence against women is along the lines of what has been passed in Malaysia in 1994, where domestic violence includes any violence against children, domestic servants or against individuals who are living in a household. Domestic violence should not be used interchangeably with spousal violence only, as is most often the case. It should come with a specific definition and should include spousal violence, not be based entirely on it,” stresses Fareeda Shaheed of the Shirkatgah, an NGO.

To ascertain the various ambiguities of the draft bill it was only too natural to turn to Ms Asma Jehangir for clarity. An important legislation such as domestic violence surely needed the revolutionary advocate’s attention to even out some of its legal ridges. However, much to the comfort of the bill’s drafters Ms Jehangir has no time to spare. She had been raising voice against these issues for the past 20 years now. But could not give 20 minutes to ensure that a roughshod bill did not become part of the law!

A similarly hectic schedule of the provincial minister for Women’s Development and Human Rights, Ms Ashifa Riaz Fatiyana, prevented her from discussing the issue of domestic violence. Ms Fatiyana’s activities revolved around going to Islamabad and attending cabinet meetings with the Chief Minister. “I know domestic violence is an important issue, but you must understand how busy I am. Call me next week,” said the provincial minister when contacted. Next week, the minister for Women’s Development and Human Rights decided not to answer the phone. Domestic violence took back seat to other ministerial engagements.

If the bill is adopted in its present form it could cause problems rather than solving them, foremost of which is the restrictive definition of domestic violence in Section 2 (D). It states: (i)‘domestic violence means one or more of the following acts committed by a person against a spouse or child or dependent: habitually committing assaults or making the life of the aggrieved person miserable: (ii) committing mischief against the property of the aggrieved party......’

“In our social setup, we find that it is not the property alone but sentiments against which violence is committed,” explains Syed Afzal Haider, a leading advocate of the Supreme Court and a former member of the Islamic Council of Ideology. “In defining domestic violence, the word ‘means’ should be replaced with ‘include’, so that any category, whether it is physical, mental, religious or any other category that the court might consider should be included,” enunciates the eminent advocate.

The bill excludes the provision of ‘providing a remedy for different categories of domestic violence’. “I think a difficulty would arise because many acts which fall under the category of violence will also be falling within the mischief of general criminal law of the land. The best thing would be to subject this law to open debate and to examine laws related to domestic violence passed by other countries.”

In Mr Haider’s opinion, before making the law all possible categories of domestic violence should be identified. “I think the term ‘aggrieved person’ should be reconsidered in the bill and instead ‘victim’ should be inserted. The term committing mischief against property, used in clause 2, subsection 2 (D ii) excludes the definition of the penal code. Mischief is always committed against property, that’s why it is necessary to review the word ‘mischief’,” asserted Afzal Haider.

He also raised objections to the use of the word ‘habitually’ in the definition of domestic violence. “It means that you are permitting a person to commit violence on a regular basis. Most of the bill deals with the protection officer and does not deal with the sensitive side of women’s problems. It makes no mention of what will be the punishment of a husband forcing his coital rights. The drafter has to know the social problems and experiences of women. No doubt it is a good move, but since it is the first step, it must be taken cautiously.”

Please Visit our Sponsor (Ads open in separate window)