Women’s Rights Bill - Its political impact

THE SENATE of Pakistan has finally passed by a majority vote the Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill which seeks to correct distortions in the existing Hudood Ordinances and to ensure that women -victims of rape are not harassed. The Bill which has already been hailed by progressive forces including General Pervez Musharraf shall shortly receive President’s assent and become the law of the land thereby giving solace to the girls and women who were being abused for the past 27 years in cases under the controversial Hudood laws.
The last-minute plea by MMA’s Senator Prof. Khursheed Ahmad to the ruling alliance “not to defy the injunctions of the Holy Quran and Sunnah” was in vain. The Federal Law Minister in his speech stressed that the Bill as passed was perfectly in conformity with the principles of Islam. Muttehida Majlis-e-Amal Senators felt strongly otherwise. They wanted the Bill to be referred to the Islamic Ideology Council but the Government party felt that the Bill had been drafted in consultation with leading religious scholars and that in fact it was not un-Islamic. The Hudood Ordinances have remained on the statute book for nearly 27 years. Various rights’ activists groups have all along maintained that women-victims were unjustly victimized due to definitions of rape/adultery contained therein. This goes to the credit of the present Government to have picked up the courage to amend these laws so as to ensure against exploitation of the women involved in cases under the Hudood laws.
Successive Governments either did not have the clout or the courage to undo injustice being done to women in the name of Islam’. However, the Government party has maintained that the new law does not offend against Islamic provisions. It only corrects man-made laws. However, the critics of the new law are opposing the new legislation terming it as un-Islamic. It is therefore doubly important that the new law as adopted should be reviewed by experts again to ensure that reservations expressed against it are not valid. No doubt, the new law is also man-made but it does not give the authority to the Parliament to alter Quranic law. If after the proposed review, the new law is found to contain some provisions repugnant to the Holy Quran and Sunnah, the Government should be well advised not to hesitate to amend it. Unreasonable insistence may create a political situation where critics of the Bill can exploit it to the maximum. The threat of the MMA to resign from the Assemblies should not be taken lightly. PML (N) and PPPP will also follow them once they walk out of the Parliament. A political earthquake is certain to be caused. The supporters of the Bill should avoid any political crisis emerging out of the new legislation. Religion continues to occupy a pivotal role in our polity. The Government may find it impossible to weather a storm of protests against what MMA maintains Government’s “anti-Islam” policies.
 

Cyber-crime bucks trend

Excluding criminal violations involving traffic accidents, about 2.27 million crimes came to the attention of police in 2005, according to the 2006 white paper on crime. The figure was 11.4 percent lower than the year before and around 20 percent (580,000 incidents) lower than the peak year 2002. The overall decline should serve as a catalyst for encouraging the government as well as the public to enhance their crime-prevention efforts.
The decline occurred mainly in thefts, which accounted for about three-quarters of the nonvehicular penal code offenses in 2005. The number of theft cases — 1.72 million — was down 27.4 percent (652,000 incidents) from the peak of 2.37 million in 2002. The white paper, compiled and published by the Research and Training Institute of the Justice Ministry, offers insight into the relationship between crime and the general social situation. It says a high unemployment rate leads to an increase in thefts and other property-related crimes, while a low unemployment rate presages a decrease in overall crime. In 2002, when the unemployment rate hit 5.4 percent, the highest in recent years, the number of nonvehicular offenses reached a postwar peak of 2.85 million. As the jobless rate fell to 4.4 percent in 2005, so did the number of total offenses. Economic and labor policymakers should consider the white paper’s opinion that helping ex-convicts get employment is an important tool for preventing crime.
Although the number of crimes, excluding thefts, decreased by about 37,000, or 6.4 percent, in 2005 after reaching a postwar record of 581,000 in 2004, cyber-crime has been steadily climbing — from 1,209 incidents in 2001 to 2,811 in 2005. The rise in Internet fraud through online auctions has been remarkable. The number of incidents increased from 485 in 2001 to 542 in 2004, and then jumped to 1,408 in 2005. This trend should remind us that the overall decline in crime is no reason for people to let down their guard against the dangers of being deceived through use of the computer.
Of the total number of suspects sent to prosecutors or processed according to nonprosecutorial proceedings in connection with nonvehicular offenses in 2005, more than 37 percent were repeat offenders. It is clear that merely confining offenders in penal facilities does little to prevent crime. Under the convict treatment law that went into effect in May 2006, various programs have been introduced to help convicts overcome the tendency to repeat crimes, including sex offenses. Taking into consideration their personal characteristics and upbringing, the programs are aimed at helping convicts stop using narcotics, leave mob organizations, empathize with the suffering of crime victims and deal with emotional problems.
Convicts who meet certain conditions are now allowed to work outside penal facilities. It is hoped that prison authorities will administer this measure with care and strengthen efforts to find jobs for ex-convicts so that those who have paid their debts to society have a better chance of smoothly returning to it. The white paper also touches on the criminal recidivism rate of sex offenders. Of the 672 sex-crime convicts released from prison in 1999, nearly 40 percent committed a crime after their release.

—Japan Times