There seems to be no check on them
The treatment meted out to women in South Asia is horrendous, particularly so in Pakistan. In areas still under the influence of tribal traditions, a girl can be married off against her will to settle a family feud. A woman accused of disloyalty by her husband or his family can be executed after sanction is given by the tribal panchayat. Incidents of the sort continue to take place in violation of the orders passed by the Supreme Court. The panchayat can order her to be gang raped as happened in the case of Mukhtaran Mai. In more “enlightened” central Punjab, honour killing does not need the panchayat’s sanction. Last year a 26-year-old woman was stoned to death outside the gates of Lahore High Court for marrying against her family’s wishes. Acid attacks on women, which disfigure the victim for the rest of her life, continue to take place.
A horrendous case of gang rape was reported from Punjab a day after a Senate Standing Committee approved a new law against rape. Like most gang rape victims, the 23-year-old school teacher kept silent out of sense of shame. She was forced to reveal the secret to her family when the four men who perpetrated the crime put the video of the rape scene they had filmed on the social media.
The prejudice against women is not confined to the socially backward people. Pervez Musharraf’s comment on Mukhtaran Mai’s case is reflective of his bias against women. The Pakistani women exaggerated rape as publicity stunts to obtain foreign nationalities, he said. The Islamic Ideology Council insists that the DNA test does not constitute primary evidence in rape cases and that an accused person cannot be punished unless the rape victim produces four eye witnesses. The Council is thus likely to reject the video evidence on the same grounds.
With the advent of democracy a few laws in support of women victims have been passed. More laws and a lot of social reforms are needed to stop the crimes against women and give them equal rights.
