One Step Forward

The year 2006 in retrospect has been a year that saw changes, many changes… The President coming up with his memoir, launching it internationally, creating a stir among the people and dividing many as to whether he should have done it or not.
The long awaited nullification of Hudood Laws also came about. I fail to understand the hype and furore over the Women’s Protection Bill by religious politicians. How can somebody in his right mind contemplate the possibility of four witnesses to a rape, except in the case of gang rape?
Hoping that it is not eyewash… The Women’s Protection Bill of Pakistan has dramatically reformed the draconian rape laws from 1979, passed by then dictator Zia ul Haq under the influence of the religious fundamentalists. This has been a contentious issue in the Pakistan establishment. It has split MPs between the opposition and government parties and has even divided president from prime minister.
At a function on International Women’s Day, President Musharraf said that in order to make Pakistan a moderate Islamic state there was a need to do away with all customs and laws that discriminated against women. True, indeed.
But some prominent religious leaders are of the view that the bill is not for the rights of the women but the promotion of obscenity and the next target would be the Blasphemy Law.
The role played by women in the economy is strange, to say the least. Women do better than men at all levels of the educational system, from primary school to university. Still women have to struggle hard (read: fight) their way to the top.
Coming back to our social system, women are still bound by antiquated customs. Thirty years after the Dowry and Bridal Gift Restriction Act of 1976, which fixed a monetary limit on dowry and the amount that could be spent on weddings, the law is openly being flouted and has never really been executed. The shocking lengths to which people can go to ensure a dowry for their daughters came to light recently when a man killed four of his relatives in Munirabad, Punjab, because he desperately needed money for his sister’s marriage. Such unsubstantial evil customs are against Islamic norms. We wish the protestors could focus in the right direction.
These and many other barbaric ways must be stopped. While laws alone cannot do much, their enforcement is bound to bring about a change in attitudes. Let us hope that 2007 opens up new vistas and brings along a whole new vision for women’s emancipation.

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