LAHORE, March 8: The Joint Action Committee for People’s Rights has demanded repeal of all laws based on sex discrimination.

The demand was made at a meeting, held in connection with the international women’s day, at the HRCP auditorium here on Saturday.

It represents about three dozen women, human rights, social and cultural organizations.

The meeting, through a resolution, asked the law makers to repel the Hadood Ordinances, law of Qisas and Diyat, the Qanoon-i-Shahadat as well as blasphemy law.

Expressing concern at the external and internal threats to the world peace and progress, the meeting urged the political leadership of Pakistan to respect the public opinion in favour of peace and against the impending attack of America and its allies on Iraq.

It also urged the government to adopt transparent and convincing measures to assure the people that it had abandoned its previous policies of sponsoring terrorism.

The meeting emphasised that any counter terrorism measures taken internally or internationally should conform to the international standards of human rights and the rule of law.

Declaring its support to the forces which were raising their voice against the LFO, the resolution deplored the manner in which the constitution had been disregarded.

In this connection it appreciated the efforts of the Supreme Court Bar Association and the movement it had launched against the LFO and for the protection of the independence of judiciary in the country.

It also condemned the attacks against the security of non-Muslims in Pakistan. The meeting also supported the struggle of workers, peasants, working journalists, teachers and other professionals against violation of their rights.

Earlier, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan general secretary Hina Jilani said that laws like the Enforcement of Hadood (Zina) Ordinance, Qisas and Diyat ordinance and the new Evidence Act contained provisions discriminating against the rights and interests of women in Pakistan.

She said that instead of protecting the women these laws had exposed them to the tyranny and injustice of the people who had scant regard for the women’s rights.

The women were being implicated and punished under these laws accusing them of committing various crimes. She said that women were murdered by their relatives in the name of honour and the killers had protection of law against such heinous crime.

She said that HRCP and various women’s organizations had been protesting against such laws for the last 19 years but the law makers had turned a deaf ear to their demand.

She regretted that most members of the assemblies and the senate were the people who had been advocating the killings of women in the name of honour. The human rights activists had least hope of any redressing of the grievances of women folk.

The women and human rights activists would continue their struggle against all such black laws till they were repealed.

A documentary on an incident of honour killing was also screened and a play depicting the plight of a married woman at the hands of her husband was also staged.