ISLAMABAD: The government has requested National Speaker Asad Qaiser to sent the much-delayed proposed legislation on domestic violence to the Council of Islamic Ideology to seek its advice as it believes that the matter involves the interpretation of Islamic injunctions.
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan has written a letter to Qaiser, seeking a review of the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2021, by the body. The proposal, presented by Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari in July last year, was adopted by the House in April this year.
The bill was then referred to the Senate, where the opposition had defeated the government by one vote to block the immediate passage of the proposed law, insisting that the bill be referred to the relevant standing committee for further deliberation.
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At the time, PPP’s Yousuf Raza Gilani, the leader of opposition in the Senate, had argued that while the bill was important legislation that had taken months to be cleared from the NA, it needed to be referred to the standing committee.
A voice vote was then suggested to decide on the matter and when the opposition had defeated the government by 35-34, the Senate chairperson had directed the then yet-to-be-formed committee to present its report to the House on the matter two days after its formation.
The legislation aimed to “establish an effective system of protection, relief and rehabilitation of women, children, elders and any vulnerable persons against domestic violence”, Mazari said at the time.
In the letter dated July 5, Awan pointed out that the bill was passed by the National Assembly in April but was referred back to the House after the Senate suggested amendments to it.
The letter further stated that concerns have been raised “regarding various definitions and other contents of the bill”.
“Most importantly it is being highlighted that the bill contravenes the Islamic [injunctions] and way of life as enshrined in the responsibility of the state in Article 31 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” it read.
Citing Article 230-1-b of the Constitution, the letter said it “empowers the Islamic Council to advise a House, a Provincial Assembly, a President or a Governor on any question referred to it as to whether a proposed law is or is not repugnant to the [injunctions] of Islam”.
Moreover, under Article 230-1-a, the body can make recommendations to parliament regarding ways and means to encourage Muslims in Pakistan to lead their lives, individually and collectively, in accordance with the principles of Islam, Awan said.
THE LEGISLATION:
The bill, which also extends to Islamabad, defines domestic violence as “all acts of physical, emotional, psychological, sexual and economic abuse committed by a respondent against women, children, vulnerable persons, or any other person with whom the respondent is or has been in a domestic relationship that causes fear, physical or psychological harm to the aggrieved person”.
It includes, but is not limited to, acts such as repeated exhibition of possessiveness or jealousy which lead to invasion of privacy, liberty, integrity and security, threats of divorce or second marriage on baseless accusations or infertility, wilful or negligent abandonment, stalking, harassment, or compelling the wife to cohabit with anybody other than the husband.
The bill also criminalises insults, ridicule, and false allegations on the character of a female member or any member of the shared household, as well as intentional deprivation of economic or financial resources or hindrance to access of such resources which the aggrieved person is entitled to under the law.
The act of domestic violence [if the offence committed does not fall under the Pakistan Penal Code] shall be punishable with imprisonment of a maximum of three years and a minimum of six months, depending on the gravity of the crime committed.
According to the bill, if an offence falling under the PPC is committed in a domestic relationship, the crime shall be punishable as under the PPC.
A fine ranging from Rs20,000 to Rs100,000 would also be imposed on the perpetrator, which would be paid as compensation to the aggrieved person. In case of default in payment of fine, the perpetrator may be awarded three months imprisonment.
HISTORY OF THE BILL
Last month, the opposition in the Senate had raised alarm over the bill, along with other key human rights legislation it had sponsored, disappearing into a black hole to emerge in the form of government bills.
“A wrong practice is going on for quite some time which is a disincentive for members of the Senate who work hard on the bills with the civil society and their colleagues,” PPP parliamentary leader Senator Sherry Rehman had said while raising the issue in the house.
She had regretted that instead of using parliamentary committees for scrutinising and reviewing bills, countless progressive bills had just vanished from parliamentary agendas under the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government.
“It is shocking how my Bill, ‘Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill, 2020’, has been silently omitted from the agenda,” Rehman had added.
In 2016, the CII had proposed a bill that allowed a husband to “lightly” beat his wife “if needed” and prohibited mixing of the genders in schools, hospitals and offices.
That proposal had come under fire by rights activists.
Farzana Bari, human rights activist and academic at Quaid-i-Azam University, had termed the proposed bill unconstitutional.
“Allowing a husband to beat his wife, in any way, is against Pakistan’s Constitution and the international laws and treaties that Pakistan has signed and is bound by. This Council is a burden on the Pakistani taxpayer and bringing a bad name to Muslims throughout the world,” she had said, warning that the bill “will take Pakistan further into ignorance.”
TWITTER ENRAGED CII INVOLVEMENT:
The news that the bill was being sent to the CII sent shockwaves across Twitter as many took issue with the fact that there is no female representation on the CII, despite it being mandated by Article 228 of the Constitution.
There was little women representation throughout the process, except Mazari who put forward the bill.
Many people believed the bill was comprehensive enough to terrify men. Others took on the notion that it was “against Pakistan’s culture” and gave the internet a wake-up call.
Some believe the law may be weakened by any further amendments.
One Twitter user wanted to know what was so objectionable about the bill in the first place.
Actor Osman Khalid Butt was left nonplussed by the news.
“Okay let me clarify, imagine a country that hates its women so much that a bill to protect them from violence needs to be proposed only to be rejected,” wrote Model Eman Suleman on an Instagram story.
“Let this be a reminder to us that laws are made by men to protect men and to help them maintain their power over women/gender minorities. Our country literally refused to pass a bill to keep women and children safe from physical violence,” she wrote in a second story.
“So the next time you put your faith in [the] law, think twice. And shut up with your innocent until proven guilty. Powerful men will get away with pretty much anything because the law is on their side. I am especially talking to other women.”
Actor and author Mira Sethi believed the government does not prioritise protecting women.
