RSS FeedsA stupid rape law in Pakistan
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15 Oct
2006 |
I was just reading in the newspaper today; there is a law in Pakistan (it could be existing everywhere in the Muslim world) called Hadood that makes it incumbent upon the rape victim to produce 4 witnesses in case she lodges a complaint, and in case she cannot produce 4 witnesses, she is charged with adultery and punished accordingly. How sick and stupid can a system be to accommodate such laws?!
First of all, who would rape in front of 4 victims unless it is a social affair carried out publicly? And why the hell is it the responsibility of the victim herself to produce witnesses; isn’t getting the witnesses job of the prosecuting authorities? What do the police do in such societies? How do people tolerate such practices amidst their societies? Don’t they feel any repulsion?
Rape laws in the Muslim society are really screwed up, and if they really are what they seem, only mentally criminal people could practice such laws. Take for instance Mukhtar Mai: her mass rape was ordered by a tribal council and the Pakistani government tried its best to stop her from speaking at various international forums.
I hope people are fighting over there against such barbaric, humiliating practices.
Email this link | Posted by Amrit | Tags: Culture, International, Society
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October 16th, 2006 at 4:07 am
Visit
http://www.geo.tv/zs/ for more details on this issue
October 16th, 2006 at 2:23 pm
Thanks for the informative link.
October 16th, 2006 at 3:24 pm
This is scary.
October 17th, 2006 at 5:48 am
@Anirudh:
Yes, Anirudh, it is scary if you’re a woman or if your loved ones are women there. Even imagining being a woman there suffocates.
October 18th, 2006 at 8:17 pm
This is outrageous indeed but even in India, we have stupid, obsolete laws and a judicial system that is notorious for delays of various kinds. Despite so much highlighting and been written sbout it , nothing really changes unfortunately.
First time on your blog. Quite a fancy cave you have here, I must say.
October 19th, 2006 at 2:24 am
You got it the other way around, it’s the accuser who must produce 4 eyewitnesses to testify that a certain woman had committed adultery and that they saw her during the act, and this is to make sure that no man accuses an innocent woman of this crime.
if he fails he is punished and this is to stop anyone else from repeating this mistake, u should read further and not believe anyone who says anything.
thank u.
October 19th, 2006 at 9:55 pm
Stop! You are not allowed to criticize Pakistan, they are an ally of the United States!
October 19th, 2006 at 10:03 pm
Actually, you are referring to the set of laws widely known as the Hudood Ordinance (of 1979), which are extremely controversial inside and outside the country. A bill is currently being put through to amend the law, and remove the four witness requirement(See end). Here is the part you reference:
“1. Short title, extent and commencement
(1) This Ordinance may be called the Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979.
(2) It extends to the whole of Pakistan.
(3) It shall come into force on the twelfth day of Rabi-ul-Awwal, 1399 Hijri, that is, the tenth day of February, 1979.
2. Definitions
In this Ordinance, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject of context: (a) “adult” means a person who has attained, being a male, the age of eighteen years or, being a female, the age of sixteen years, or has attained puberty;
(b) “hadd” means punishment ordained by the Holy Quran or Sunnah;
(c) “marriage” means marriage which is not void according to the personal law or the parties, and “married” shall be construed accordingly;
(d) “Muhsan” means (i) a Muslim adult man who is not insane and has had sexual intercourse with a Muslim adult woman who, at the time he had sexual intercourse with her, was married to him and was not insane; or
(ii) a Muslim adult woman who is not insane and has had sexual intercourse with a Muslim adult man who, at the time she had sexual intercourse with him, was married to her and was not insane;
and
(e) “tazir” means any punishment other than “hadd”, and all other terms and expressions not defined in this Ordinance shall have the same meaning as the Pakistan Penal Code, or the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898.
3. Oridnance to override other Laws.
The provisions of this Ordinance shall have effect nothwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force.
4. Zina
A man and a woman are said to commit ‘Zina’ if they wilfully have sexual intercourse without being validly married to each other.
Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the sexual intercourse necessary to the offence of Zina.
5. Zina liable to hadd.
(1) Zina is zina liable to hadd if- (a) it is committed by a man who is an adult and is not insane with a woman to whom he is not, and does not suspect himself to be married; or
(b) it is committed by a woman who is an adult and is not insane with a man to whom she is not, and does not suspect herself to be, married.
(2) Whoever is guilty of Zina liable to hadd shall, subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, - (a) if he or she is a muhsan, be stoned to death at a public place; or
(b) if he or she is not muhsan, be punished, at a public place; with whipping numbering one hundred stripes.
(3) No punishment under sub-section (2) shall be executed until it has been confirmed by the Court to which an appeal from the order of conviction lies; and if the punishment be of whipping; until it is confirmed and executed, the convict shall be dealt with in the same manner as if sentenced to simple imprisonment.
6. Zina bil Jabr
(1) A person is said to commit zina-bil-jabrif he or she has sexual inter-course with a woman or man, as the case may be, to whom he or she is not validly married, in any of the following circumstances, namely:- (a) against the will of the victim;
(b) without the consent of the victim;
(c) with the consent of the victim, when the consent has been obtained by putting the victim in fear of death or of hurt; or
(d) with the consent of the victim , when the offender knows that the offender is not validly married to the victim and that the consent is given because the victim believes that the offender is another person to who the victim is or believes herself or himself to be validly married.
Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the sexual inter-course necessary to the offence of zina-bil-jabr.
(2) Zina-bil-jabr is zina-bil-jabr liable to hadd if it is committed in the committed in the circumstances specified in sub-section (1) of section 5.
(3) Whoever is guilty of zina-bil-jabr liable to hadd shall subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, - (a) if he or she is a muhsan, be stoned to death at a public place; or
(b) if he or she is not muhsan, be punished with whipping numbering one hundred stripes, at a public place, and with such other punishment, including the sentence of death, as the Court may deem fit having regard to the circumstances of the case.
(4) No punishment under sub-section (3) shall be executed until it has been confirmed by the Court to which an appeal from the order of conviction lies; and if the punishment be of whipping until it is comfirmed and executed, the convict shal be dealt with in the same manner as if sentenced to simple imprisonment.
7. Punishment for Zina or zina-bil-jabr where convit is not an adult.
A person guilty of zina or zina-bil-jabr shall, if he is not an adult, be punished wiht imprisonment of either description for a term whic may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both, and may also be awarded the punishment of whipping not exceeding thirty stripes:
Provided that, in the case of zina-bil-jabr, if the offender is not under the age of fifteen years, the punishment of whipping shall be awarded with or without any other punishment.
8. Proof of zina or zina-bil-jabr liable to hadd.
Proof of zina-bil-jabr liable to hadd shall be in one of the following forms, namely:- (a) the accused makes before a Court of competent jurisdiction a confession of the commission of the offence; or
(b) at least four Muslim adult male witnesses, about whom the Court is satisfied, having regard to the requirements of tazkiyah al-shuhood, that they are truthful persons and abstain from major sins (kabair), give evidence as eye-widnesses of the act of penetration necessary to the offence:
Provided that, if the accused is a non-Muslim, the eye-witnesses may be non-Muslims. ”
Currently a bill is being put through in Pakistan to amend the law:
“But late on Monday, prominent lawmaker S.M. Zafar said the government had agreed to a “compromise” which would allow a victim of rape to choose between prosecuting suspects under the Islamic four-witness rule, or under Pakistan’s civil penal code.
Pakistan’s law minister, Wasi Zafar, who is not related to the senator, said, “If a woman has four witnesses, she can file a case under the Hudood law … [but] if she does not have witnesses, she can file a case under the penal code.”
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2006/09/13/2003327418
October 19th, 2006 at 10:09 pm
As far as the punishment of rape goes, let us not forget it is the culture, as opposed to foolish laws, which creates a situation in which the vast majority of rape commited go unreported.
See these stats:
61% of rapes/sexual assaults are not reported to the police. Those rapists, of course, never serve a day in prison. (1999 NCVS)
If the rape is reported to police, there is a 50.8% chance that an arrest will be made. If an arrest is made, there is an 80% chance of prosecution. If there is a prosecution, there is a 58% chance of a felony conviction. If there is a felony conviction, there is a 69% chance the convict will spend time in jail. So, even in the 39% of attacks that are reported to police, there is only a 16.3% chance the rapist will end up in prison. Factoring in unreported rapes, about 6% of rapists - 1 out of 16 - will ever spend a day in jail. 15 out of 16 will walk free.
[Probability statistics compiled by NCPA from US Department of Justice statistics. See http://www.ncpa.org/studies/s229/s229.html
http://www.samarthbharat.com/crimepunishment.htm
Don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s only a problem in “developing” or “Muslim” countries.
October 20th, 2006 at 4:13 am
Hi Friends.
Thanks for such detailed and incisive comments. As always, the purpose of the post was exactly to trigger such lively debate. Every society interprets laws and practices according to its preference.
But the point is not interpreting it and then feeling wise about it. It’s about why we tolerate such laws and practices; why men tolerate them and why women tolerate them? Anywhere in the world.
October 26th, 2006 at 11:58 pm
i respect pakiland and its laws simply because if they want to be aholes, they are explicit with absolute no veils. whereas the hindooland is a bit on the wussy side of things..maybe more than a lttle. it has 395 articles in its british emulated consitution, but however its implentation or practice has been at the rate of a turtle moving forward. so, in a country like india where 260 million dalits (yes its about them again) and im assuming probably half are women, are being raped in rural and urban areas, where their chilren are sold into devdasiness and into the huge indian sex industry….well i cant help but think pakiland is better cuz atleast it shows us of how stupid its laws or school of thought is, whereas india likes to pretend to be a true child of the west, while still holding on to its historical myths of its golden age wasting away precious milk on a shivling which hasnt seemed to help any hindoos mature in that shivling specific area, metaphorically speaking …if you know wat i mean.
can the hindoos stand any self exploration? or is it just so dark and embarrasing…since bharat is one of the few countries to have such a long history of enslavement under foreign ruling elites.
peace
October 30th, 2006 at 1:42 pm
hey amrit and followers….
interesting article…and something to be proud…i think…
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6086334.stm
October 31st, 2006 at 6:41 am
ASLAM UN ALEKUM
HEHE ALL THE STUPID ALims and writers who wrote down
this law got it Wrong.
You can do research On islamic law regardin the Rape thing and u will spend off ur own life readin AHadith
which are Sahih
Islam is the only law Which Gives Solutions which no other Religion gives and I can 100% prove this law to be the best of all timessssssssssssss.
It was best and it is Brother do research understanding on the Real soul of this punishment.
October 31st, 2006 at 6:52 am
I’ve made an interesting observation among the Muslims. They’re always defending their laws, traditions and practices with hyperbolic claims or start accusing other religions of practicing more evil things. No wonder there is so little improvement.
And this trait is across the classes: from high-profile intellectuals to the rickshaw-pullers — they all defend, but there is no talk of reforms. The point is not about what is written in The Book (I’m ready to agree that the Koran is the best book in the world), the point is, what is practiced in reality.
October 31st, 2006 at 2:10 pm
ok amrit..completely agree with you…however i am ready to say that not only islam, but hinduism as well does exactly wat you mentioned above. infact hindus do it the most. cuz u see here in the states and in europe we get few rebellious muslims willing to speak either for selfish reason or for actually humanity oriented reasons against their religion or rather its laws. but no where do i find hindus speaking up against the caste system, no where in the states or europe, no hindu coming out and saying..hey lets rethink the caste system, lets think about the devdasi system and historical and contemporary practicality, if there is any. lets think about 84, 2002. lets think about wat really is hinduism and how have the laws of manu been used hisotircally and are being used to hold down so many people? hindus are constantly trying to hide or deny the ill of hindusim and its laws. thats why they couldnt handle the california school board having writen the dark side of hindusim and all the upper caste hindus went crazy, and the dalits here were like “YEAH MAN..finally the truth is being spoken”. hindus only come out to defent their religion, never do they come out to actually have a serious dialogue, i witnessed this myself with a indian professor who only allowed us to write about how great the indian democracy is when the myself and the rest of the class felt like dude india aint no real democracy.
u see with islam, women may get the lower end of the deal, but with hindusim only upper case hindus get the upper end of the deal. islam, can claim to have brought a better life to many women relative to how they were before islam but hinduism cant claim to have brought anything better in the lives of the dalits/shudras and other minorities. and your blog is a great exmple, how many hindus spoke in your favor when you wrote about dalits? also, have you wondered about sati, in the bhagvat gita it clearly states: a dog is a better than a woman. read the mahabarta…sita is left whenever ram feels likes it and taken back when ever he feels like it. ram didnt even take her back after 14/12 years of seperation becasue he felt she was impure and ravan had done this to her. women have been the point of sexual pleasure for men throughout hinduism. and ofocurse you have the exceptional hindu dieties, but even they are wed to some hindu devta. women are to consider their husband “parmesuar”. women do the fasting, and if she doesnt not birth a son, she is put to the side, burnt, sent back to her parents, or replaced with another. look at your history hindu indians, its shameful, one of the worst of mankind…in terms of its treatment of women. muslim women, are being controled by the manipulation of the Koran, hindu women are being told their religion is their husband. from the time of birth they are to worship their fathers, husbands and then sons. thats why you have rakhsha bandan, and im not sure wats that called when they fast in relatin to the moon. if a womens husband dies, she is to wear white, and never remarry…gosh there is so much, just check out the LAWS OF MANU…
oh and burqua laws…in india laws may not be writen down but they are well understood. throughout india women are not to show their face infront of any other man other than her husband…they cover their face starting even before puberty…they cant show their face to their father in laws, even their husbands (maybe in privacy they can) have you heard of goongat? talk abotu burqua…atleast with it you can see where you are walking..with goongat you’re only left to look to the ground or need another womens help to walk. and the weird part is…its not about covering up..i mean these women who do goongat their stomachs or legs might be showing but yet they are expected to cover their face…so im confused abotu that…maybe you can tell me why the need for the goongat…
October 31st, 2006 at 2:22 pm
Zhivago Miyan, PLEASE convert to our faith. We need more and more people like you in our community. I like the way you bring out the filth of Hinhuism.
October 31st, 2006 at 4:55 pm
hey sheru sweety…i am zhivago
October 31st, 2006 at 4:56 pm
finally u admit!!
October 31st, 2006 at 4:56 pm
hey amrit…please remove the last comment..i was just proving to my friend my identiy on here
November 12th, 2006 at 11:31 am
Its no excuse but it makes sense when you think the whole religion is backwards. If rape was something that men suffered then the laws would be a lot easier to convict someone, But in the Muslim faith men are a lot higher than women. Countries that have this law are backwards and need sorting out.