Rage of the right

Who is really right here?

With the women empowerment bill, PM Nawaz attending diwali, even praising Dr Abdus Salam, not to mention his interest in Sharmeen Obaid’s documentary (and Qadri’s execution), many political analysts have started believing that ‘PML-N is turning secular and doing the same to the country’?

Soon questions began circulating about why PML-N, a centre-right party historically, is becoming a centre-left party? Soon enough, though, came the right wing’s reaction; an ultimatum to roll back the Act or suffer a ’77 like agitation, which led to the downfall of the Bhutto government. This has forced the Punjab government to stop the implementation of the bill for the time being.

Commenting on the issue, former MNA Nosheen Saeed said nearly 60 per cent of Pakistanis don’t vote because they have lost confidence in the rotten, corrupt system. If Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ditches the religious right, which is nearly five per cent of the vote bank and moves towards a liberal, moderate and progressive Pakistan, he can easily win over the silent majority.

“Who has authorised the religious jamaats to veto any bill or act passed by the provincial and national assembly? How can these self-appointed ulema threaten or blackmail the government of Pakistan?” she asked, while saying that these are the very jamaats that opposed the creation of Pakistan and since its inception have caused divisions within the country, besides spreading intolerance, sectarianism, violence & bigotry.

“They are the fifth column working on a foreign agenda within the country. It is time to oppose these self-proclaimed ‘thakaydars’ of Islam.”

Agreeing with Nosheen, political analyst Iqbal Hussain, who has been writing on gilded age politics dominated by corruption, says maulvi or mullah of different factions have no uniform policy and themselves have been fighting with each other, but whenever any issue comes or doesn’t suit them, they go against the government. They are illiterate and have no distinctive knowledge to prove their claims. They cannot win the election that’s why they join everyone wherever they see opportunity — they are opportunist.

In order to understand the debate surrounding The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, it is imperative to be cognisant of its context. According to the estimates of The Human Rights Watch, 70 per cent women in Pakistan have undergone some kind of domestic violence, whether physical or psychological. Women are more than 50 per cent of our population and we are doing ourselves no favours by de-humanising them.

Legal expert Ali Ibrahim says the bill, in essence, provides three kinds of remedies to women. A victim of domestic violence or someone apprehensive about being abused may get a protection order from the court, which will direct the defendant to stay away from the victim and not communicate with her. The bill provides for a residence order as well which will ensure that the victim is not thrown out of the house or may be relocated to a safe shelter.

Ali says by way of a monetary order, the court may direct the defendant to compensate the victim. While the bill is certainly a step in the right direction, there are certain drawbacks. For example, the Bill fails to account for violence towards men which account for around 30 per cent of domestic violence globally. The protection officers who have been given wide powers under the bill are largely left unsupervised. Furthermore, it remains to be seen who will train these officers.

“However, l believe groups on either side, whether they think the bill is against the Shari’a or whether they think it doesn’t criminalise violence and more should’ve been done, have taken an extreme position,” he said.

Criminalisation of domestic violence, though a noble aim, may have made the bill susceptible to a successful challenge before the Federal Shari’at Court on grounds that the same is against Shari’a. Employing this incremental approach, whether by design or by fluke, gives the government a much stronger footing from which to defend the bill.

Ali thinks that in terms of Shari’a, and this is not just in the context of the bill under discussion but is also very relevant to the current rules of interpretation being employed by the ulema in Pakistan, the correct rule is “Permissibility” i.e., whatever has not been expressly forbidden is permitted as opposed to the rule of interpretation based on ‘Prohibition’; whatever has not been made expressly permitted is forbidden. We have seen heightened emotional responses from the religious lobby.

“What we have not seen are substantive references to the Quran that prohibit the kind of regulation established under the bill. The bill, in my opinion, is not against Shari’a, but let’s for a second assume that it was. We have a banking system that is without doubt against the injunctions of Shari’a yet we see no processions against it. The practice of hiding our insecure cultural practices under the garb of religion has to stop irrespective of everything,” he added.

Agreeing with Ali, political activist Tooba Saeed said Pakistan is the third most dangerous country in the world for women. That alone tells us what the government should be doing at the moment to tackle the issue. Women make up half of the population of this country and continue to live in fear. This law is for the protection of half the population of Pakistan, and the government should not cave into the demands of a handful of self-proclaimed mullahs. Their stance is not Islamic, it’s misogynist. It’s their own patriarchal interpretation of religion which makes them oppose the women’s protection bill. Acclaimed women rights activist and lawyer Aliya Khan said the government should meet the threat head on and initiate a bold campaign to uphold the rights of women and the sanctity of family, following Islam’s teachings. Whenever a revolutionary law comes into force, some opposition is always faced. But succumbing to opposition will just show the weakness of the current government. PML-N needs to show a strong counter opposition so that positive steps to preserve the constitution and Pakistan’s international commitments continue to be taken.

Arguing on the same lines, International Association of Human Rights Chair Rubab Mehdi Rizvi said the ulema are not elected and the government needs to set a strong precedent. Nobody should be allowed to challenge the writ of the state. The Women Action Forum also expressed shock and outrage at the way the Punjab government has succumbed to pressure from the religious lobby and put the Women Protection Bill on hold. The reaction of the religious parties is not surprising. As a political strategy the Jamaat-e-Islami and other parties of the religious right have 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.

WAF reminds the Punjab government that Domestic Violence Bills have already been passed by the Sindh and Balochistan Assemblies without any backlash from the religious lobby. This raises troubling questions about Punjab. Is this knuckling under to the religious lobby due to the fact that the Punjab government, notwithstanding its public stance, is unsure or of its own position and insincere about its commitment to women’s rights?

In its 8th March statement WAF had welcomed the Women’s Protection Bill as a step in the right direction, while stating that the Bill itself needs strengthening in line with similar bills passed by the Sindh and Balochistan Assemblies. WAF demands that any amendments to the bill must make it more effective in providing protection to women, rather than diluting the effect of the Act. As such amendments should be made in consultation with women, who across class are the most vulnerable to domestic violence and not under pressure from a lobby that has consistently promoted its own political agendas by misusing religion to endanger women and undermine their position and status in society.