ISLAMABAD, 3 September 2003 — A government-appointed commission in Pakistan called yesterday for the abolition of laws that rights activists say discriminate against women.
The Islamic Hudood Ordinances were passed in 1979 under the rule of Gen. Ziaul Haq and cover a range of crimes.
One of the most controversial provisions states that a woman must have four male witnesses to prove rape, or face a charge of adultery herself. Men and women found guilty of adultery face stoning to death or 100 lashes.
“We have come to the conclusion that these laws should be repealed altogether,” Majida Razvi, chairwoman of the National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) told Reuters by telephone from the southern city of Karachi.
Razvi, a former judge, said the commission was preparing a report based on its recommendations, which would urge the government to conduct a public and parliamentary debate before passing new laws.
The Hudood laws have long been opposed by political parties, civil rights and women’s groups, who argue that rape and violence against women have soared since they were passed. But successive governments have failed to change the laws because of stiff opposition from powerful conservative groups, who have traditionally been close allies of the military in Pakistan.
Nilofar Bakhtiar, adviser to the prime minister on women’s development, said the government would take action after receiving the report.
“We have asked them to expedite it because we also want to do something about it,” she told Reuters, without elaborating.
According to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, there were 2,200 women in prison in the country in 2001-2002, most of whom were either awaiting trial or had been convicted under the Hudood laws.
