Women, marginalised groups suffering because of ‘privatisation of justice’
ISLAMABAD: With many still reeling from the shock of the lynching incident at Mardan University, it is no surprise that the name of the student murdered over blasphemy allegations came up numerous times in the two sessions on gender and minority issues held on the second day of the Islamabad Literature Festival (ILF) on Saturday.
PPP MNA Sherry Rehman lamented that the state has gradually been losing its monopoly on violence, which allows others to take up arms and “lynch women and innocent students”.
Ms Rehman was speaking at a session on ‘Gender, Violence, Law and Power in Pakistan’ and was joined by PPP MNA Nafisa Shah and researcher Ijaz Shafi Gilani. She said that in the 70s and 80s religion and politics were tied together, which resulted in murderous consequences for women and minorities who continue to suffer in Pakistan today. Marginalised groups have suffered from the “privatisation of justice”, resulting from the Qisas and Diyat laws introduced by General Zia-ul-Haq.
Dr Shah shared the findings from her book ‘Honour Unmasked’, which highlights how both the justice system and informal channels of redress have failed to provide justice to victims of honour killings in Sindh. She argued that customs such as karo-kari in Sindh appropriate the language of honour as a means of legitimising power and mask the underlying motivations for such murders.
Dr Shah said that conviction rate for perpetrators of ‘honour killings’ in court is deplorable and most such cases result in acquittals.