Hudood ordinances: Changes in Pakistan’s rape laws (slowly) make progress

Not going quietly

The year is different, but once again a military leader in Pakistan is spearheading an effort to amend laws pertaining to women in Pakistan. In 1979, General Zia ul-Haq introduced the Hudood Ordinance, which imposes a (purportedly Qur’anic) punishment for crimes such as murder, theft, and adultery. As part of General Zia’s efforts to “Islamize” Pakistan, the law has earned ire for its punishment of extra-marital sex and rape. According to the Ordinance, if a woman claims that she was raped and not involved in adultery, she must still have four pious male witnesses to prove rape. If four witnesses are not provided, adultery can then be proven through medical evidence, including pregnancy, and is punishable through imprisonment or fine. Under pressure (some of it coming from a TV show), President Musharraf has called for possible amendments to the Hudood Ordinance, including amending the requirement for a rape victim to produce “four pious male witnesses” to support her accusation, and automatically declaring as rape sex with a girl under the age of 16, with or without her consent. Proposed provisions will cover cases such as kidnapping and “forced elopement” – neither of which were adequately addressed under the hudood laws – trafficking of women for prostitution, and (in response to Mukhtaran Mai) proscribing the death penalty for gang-rape. However, the religiously conservative North West Frontier Province, where an estimated 338 women languish in prison, many for alleged violations of Hudood laws, has voiced its strong opposition to any changes in the Ordinance, saying that the Hudood laws are in accordance with Sharia. Others, like Pakistani scholar Javed Ghamidi, have argued that Shariah does not support this law. Leading human rights and women’s organizations are going further, calling for a complete repeal of the Hudood Ordinance. At a recent national seminar calling for the repeal of the Hudood Ordinance, Pakistani human rights activists called the law “un-Islamic, unconstitutional, inhuman, [and] exploitative,” with Musharraf’s moves being mere “cosmetic measures for the emancipation of women in Pakistan.” One person at the forefront of the effort to repeal the Hudood Ordinance is Dr. Shazia Khalid, a Pakistani physician who was raped and badly injured on January 2, 2005 by a Pakistani officer in the Army’s Defense Services Group. Officials reportedly drugged her for three days to keep her silent and then later sent her to a psychiatric hospital in Karachi. When Dr. Khalid later filed for asylum and drew international attention, Musharraf directly criticized her. “You must understand the environment in Pakistan,” said Musharraf. “This has become a moneymaking concern. A lot of people say if you want to go abroad and get a visa for Canada or citizenship and be a millionaire, get yourself raped.” For Dr. Khalid and so many other women who face punitive damages for being raped, Musharraf’s comments echo a festering problem. “Our society is such that when a woman is wronged and she dies or commits suicide, people talk of her and shake their heads and say how she was wronged and how sad it is that she lost her life,” laments Dr. Khalid. “But when the same person remains alive, they make life a living hell for her.”

Zahir Janmohamed is associate editor of altmuslim.com.  He is based in Washington, DC.