ISLAMABAD, Dec 5: President Pervez Musharraf announced on Tuesday that legislations in six more areas have been planned to help remove social injustices against women.

“The government has decided to carry out a series of legislation to eliminate social injustices against women, including manipulation of the law of inheritance, trafficking of women, forced marriages, marriage with Holy Quran, practice of vani and the divorce issue,” he said while addressing the Women Convention, 2006, at the Convention Centre.

The president held out the assurance that all unjust social practices against women would be done away with.

He strongly urged women to discard the elements which were against their empowerment and progress and prosperity of the country.

Referring to those opposing the Women’s Protection Act, he said they lacked courage as they had preferred to stay away from the house during the passage of the bill in parliament.

“I would not hesitate to call them hypocrites,” he said. “Their intention is not good and that is why they will continue to be rejected by the people,” he alleged.

Terming the women’s protection law ‘historic’, he said violence against women, the weakest and the underprivileged must stop and they should stand up against any form of violence being perpetrated against them.

The president called upon women to reject retrogressive elements who, he said, wanted to keep them deprived and underprivileged. “Such elements must be defeated in the coming elections and I urge you to support the moderate elements that stand for women's rights and their empowerment,” he said. “You must go out in large numbers to vote against such extremist elements.”

The president said no law would be enacted which was against the Quran and Sunnat and Islamic injunctions. The women’s protection law passed by parliament was in accordance with the Holy Quran and Sunnat.

“I firmly believe that women must not be confined to their homes,” he said, vowing to empower them economically and claiming that they had been empowered politically.

He praised all the moderate political parties which set aside their differences and supported the bill in parliament. “The CII has termed the bill in accordance with the Holy Quran and Sunnat and this must allay any apprehensions about the law,” he said.

Earlier, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz the job quota for women had been increased from five to 10 per cent.