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Move to amend women protection bill: Civil society rejects religious parties drive
[DAWN] LAHORE: The Women Action Forum (WAF) expressed shock and outrage at the way the Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard 2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers 3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... government has allegedly succumbed to pressure from the religious lobby and put the Women Protection Bill on hold. According to a blurb issued by the WAF on Wednesday, the reaction of religious parties was not surprising. "As a political strategy, the Jamaat-e-Islami ... The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independentbranch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... and other parties of the religious right had always played the ‘Islam is in danger’ card to gain public visibility. What is shocking and unacceptable is the elected government’s response to this blackmail. In succumbing to this pressure not only is the elected government undermining its own legitimacy, it is also raising serious doubts about its sincerity and commitment to women’s right to life and safety," the forum stated. It said it wanted to remind the Punjab government that domestic violence bills had already been passed by the Sindh and Balochistan  ...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it... assemblies without any backlash from the religious lobby. In its March 8 statement, the WAF had welcomed the Women Protection Bill as a step in the right direction, while stating the bill itself needed strengthening in line with similar bills passed by Sindh and Balochistan. The WAF demanded any amendments to the bill must make it more effective in providing protection to women rather than diluting its effect. It also said as such amendments should be made in consultation with women, who across class were the most vulnerable to domestic violence and not under pressure from a lobby that had "consistently promoted its own political agendas by misusing religion to endanger women and undermine their position and status in society". Posted by: Fred 2016-03-18 |
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