The government and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) on Monday agreed to three changes in the Women's Protection Bill. The changes were agreed at a meeting of the committee of religious scholars set up to review the bill. Scholars representing the government proposed the three changes, while the MMA made six proposals. The changes include that the crime of rape be punishable under Hadd, if the conditions laid down in Hadd are met. The second proposal is that adultery be punished under a new section against "lewdness" in the PPC, which says: "A man and a woman are said to commit lewdness if they wilfully have sexual intercourse with one another and shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to five years and shall also be liable to fine."
The third change is replacement of Section 3 of the Hudood Ordinance with the following: "In the interpretation and application of this ordinance, the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Holy Quran and Sunnah shall have effect notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force."
The MMA's six proposals include: legislation to protect women's right to inheritance; legislation to stop forced marriag