[women-rights] Pakistan: Reform Hudood Laws Now

Government Must Honor Pledge to Table Women’s Protection Bill

(New York, November 14, 2006) -- The Pakistani government must honor its
pledge to amend the controversial Hudood Ordinances by removing some of
its most discriminatory and dangerous provisions, Human Rights Watch said
today.

Human Rights Watch urged the National Assembly to table the Women's
Protection Bill in its current session. The Pakistani government of
General Pervez Musharraf has said the National Assembly will soon consider
amendments to the Hudood Ordinances, which criminalize adultery and
non-marital sex, but the government has repeatedly reneged on such
assurances in the past.

"General Musharraf claims he is an 'enlightened moderate' in favor of
women's rights, but so far he has been all talk and no action," said Ali
Dayan Hasan, South Asia researcher at Human Rights Watch. "Failure to act
this time will irrevocably damage his credibility."

In the face of calls for reform by the government-run National Commission
on the Status of Women, international and Pakistani women's rights and
human rights groups and the media, the government has repeatedly promised
-- and failed -- to repeal or reform the Hudood Ordinances. This set of
laws, enacted in 1979, makes rape victims liable to prosecution, and has
led to thousands of women being imprisoned for so-called "honor" crimes.
The laws rendered most sexual assault victims unable to seek redress
through the criminal justice system, deeming them guilty of illegal sex
rather than victims of unlawful violence or abuse.

In September, the party backed by Musharraf, the Pakistan Muslim League,
reached an agreement with the moderate opposition Pakistan Peoples Party
(PPP) to make procedural changes to the Hudood Ordinances that would
permit rape victims to file charges under the criminal law instead of
religious law, which requires producing four male witnesses to guarantee
proving rape. Amendments would also allow women charged with adultery to
post bail, though it would leave many other discriminatory provisions in
place.

But Musharraf backtracked on the accord to seek an alternative agreement
on amending the Hudood Ordinances with the Islamist Muttaheda
Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) alliance, which opposes any meaningful changes. That
agreement failed to materialize.

In a meeting with Human Rights Watch on September 19, Law Minister Wasi
Zafar stated that he spoke with "the full authority of the government" in
saying that the Women’s Protection Bill would be "presented as
agreed" between the ruling coalition and the opposition PPP in the next
session of the National Assembly. The government subsequently announced
that it would submit the bill in its original form to the National
Assembly in the session currently in progress. .


"The government must present the draft bill to parliament as agreed with
the PPP to ensure that Pakistani women finally get at least some of the
rights long denied to them," said Hasan. "It is time for the government to
stop dithering and honor its word."

Human Rights Watch emphasized that despite its positive provisions, the
draft Women's Protection Bill fails to comply with many of Pakistan's
obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination
Against Women, which calls on states to modify or abolish laws that
discriminate against women. The amendments fail to address fundamental
problems with the Hudood Ordinances, such as the discriminatory provisions
that criminalize sex outside of marriage and fail to recognize marital
rape. However, Human Rights Watch said Pakistan’s failure to address
all these issues should not be used as an excuse to address none.

Human Rights Watch called on Pakistan to decriminalize adultery and
non-marital consensual sex, and to adopt rules of evidence that give equal
weight to testimony given by men and women. Further, Pakistan should raise
public awareness about the laws and better train police to deal with
victims of sexual assault, and improve support services such as shelters
and burn units for women.

"The Hudood Ordinances are hopelessly flawed and should be repealed, but
this bill will provide at least modest relief to victims," said Hasan.
"Then it will be time to address the remaining problems."

Human Rights Watch Press release