ISLAMABAD, Aug 28: Highlighting different lacunas and legal and procedural flaws in Hudood ordinances from religious and human rights perspective, speakers at a seminar called for its abolition in totality.
Terming some of the proposed amendments positive and progressive, the speakers expressed their doubts about the fate of proposed amendments in “discriminatory” Hudood laws.
Speaking at the seminar on “Hudood Ordinances: Time for repeal” organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) on Monday, Dr Arfa Sayeda Zehra from National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW), Nasreen Azhar of Women Action Forum, Islamabad; Dr Farzana Bari of QAU’s Centre of Excellence in Gender Studies, and former IGP Mohammad Saeed Alrai discussed different aspects of the subject.
Dr Arfa Sayeda Zehra, sharing her perspective about the serious lacunas in the Hudood ordinances, reiterated the NCSW stand of repealing Hudood laws instead of mere amendments.
She cited the NCSW 2003 report in which after genuine and consultative process, the learned members had concluded the abolition of these laws.
Nonetheless, she appreciated the present government’s initiative but questioned its sincerity because the proposed amendments were not forwarded to standing committee of the National Assembly.
Highlighting the inability of successive governments, she said for the first time in 27 years of enactment of Hudood ordinances, there was a positive talk of amendments in these extremely discriminatory laws.
She said amid heavy and historic representation of Maulvis in the politics and “Maulvi-Jagirdar powerful nexus”, the present government’s initiative to amend the Hudood laws was a positive step.
Dr Farzana Bari of QAU’s Centre of Excellence in Gender Studies, besides demanding the repeal of Hudood ordinances, said that the undemocratic, non-consultative, faulty and politically motivated Hudood ordinances had been violating the human rights since their inception.
She said that it was high time that the state and religion be separated. She lamented that the initiative was nothing but a politically motivated step to achieve two political gains.
She made it clear that the two intended political gains of the government were to proliferate its image as a women-friendly government and more importantly to create a divide in the resistance and unity of the opposition.
Dr Bari was very critical of the role of political parties of the arena since according to her all of them were same when it came to the women rights.
She said that irony of the fact was that one military dictator due to political compulsion introduced the Hudood ordinances while the other was amending it for same political benefits. In both cases the women remained at the centre.
She urged the civil society to actively play its role for the repeal of these discriminatory laws as the civil society was conceptually and intellectually clear but it failed to create popular support and public pressure.
Mohammad Saeed Alrai, while giving an exemplary analysis of the situation, stressed the urgent need for reinterpretation of Islamic laws and an end to selective and partial implementation of some of the Islamic laws.
He said every Islamic law had a dimension of reformable approach but unfortunately the Islamic laws had virtually never been interpreted in their true spirit and context.
While quoting some examples from the Islamic history, he made it clear that Islam always stressed for the prevalence of reformative approaches instead of just giving punishments to offenders.
Nasreen Azhar moderated the session and deplored that the government’s intention to amend Hudood laws was not to win justice for the people but purely political gains.
During the vibrant question-answer session, the participants of the seminar also questioned the sincerity of the government and its intended political gains.
They also feared that after the “assassination” of Akbar Bugti and emerging situation in Balochistan the government would now not be able to withstand against the expected pressure of MMA and would possibly withdraw from its plan of introducing amendments in Hudood laws.