ISLAMABAD, 11 February 2004 — President Gen. Pervez Musharraf yesterday called for a debate on the country’s Hudood laws.
Addressing a summit of first ladies of 17 Asian countries, Musharraf said he was aware the “Hudood Ordinances” introduced during the dictatorship of Gen. Ziaul Haq in 1979 were a “very touchy and thorny issue.” “But there is no doubt in my mind that it should be open to any debate,” he said. “Why should we shy away from even discussing it?”
Powerful Islamic groups have vowed to resist attempts to change the laws opposed by secular political parties and civil rights and women’s groups, who say rape and other violent crimes against women have soared since they were passed. One of the most controversial provisions of the laws states that a woman must have four pious male Muslim witnesses to prove a rape, or face a charge of adultery herself. Men and women found guilty of adultery face stoning to death or 100 lashes.
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) says the incidence of rape could be higher than the one every two hours reported in the local media.
But the HRCP estimates only a tiny percentage of cases ever go to court either because of the difficulty in proving a crime under Hudood laws, the social stigma attached to rape, or the use of force by influential people to cover up such incidents.
Of the cases that do reach a lower court, fewer than half lead to prosecution.
In his speech, the president denounced honor killings of hundreds of women every year in Pakistan by their own relatives and said this reflected an “attitudinal problem of the whole nation.’’
