ISLAMABAD, 15 June 2006 — Though the government has still not prepared a draft bill to strike down certain legislations in the statute which were introduced by former President Ziaul Haq, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has vowed to abrogate all such laws which are discriminatory against women, particularly the “Hudood Ordinance.”
Newly-appointed Federal Minister for Women’s Development and Youth Affairs Sumaira Malik told Arab News the government would soon present a bill in the National Assembly to repeal the Hudood Ordinance.
Sumaira said the government would repeal all laws that are discriminatory. She said the government was addressing the problems being faced by women.
Sumaira said the government would establish skill development centers for women at the district level and would provide soft loans to financially empower them. A number of financial institutions were already offering such loans, she said.
Federal Minister for Law Chaudhry Wasi Zafar, who also spoke to Arab News, confirmed that the government had plans to undo all laws that are against women but added that no draft bill had been prepared so far.
The Council of Islamic Ideology and human rights organizations are also being contacted for their input as to how to bring women at par with men in all spheres of life.
A former senator and human rights activist, Syed Iqbal Haider, said there are many laws available in the constitution that are favorable to women but those are not enforced.
Meanwhile, a Pakistani court has barred the forced marriage of two girls into a rival family to compensate for a dispute over payment for three buffalos, officials said yesterday.
