The partial passage of a new law prohibiting discrimination against women has given hope to human rights activists who say such practices violate the tenets of Islam.
The lower house of parliament on October 11 adopted some amendments of the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices 2008 bill aimed at abolishing forced marriages and depriving women of the right to inherit property.
IA Rehman, secretary general of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, characterized the partial adoption of the bill as a success after many years of effort by the group.
“We had formed a committee against forceful marriage to the Quran and sent recommendations to the government more than five years ago. Finally there is hope.”
Researchers of cultural practices say they believe that such marriages are common in rural areas of southern Sindh province and parts of Punjab province, and that while feudal families do so to prevent the transfer of property outside the family, the practice has been adopted more widely as part of the country’s caste system.
Azra Shad, chair of the Women Workers Help Line, an NGO that works on women’s rights issues, condemned the practice as a violation of the Muslim faith.
She also criticised so-called ‘marriages to the Qu’ran’. “This is illegal and [against Islam]. The victim has to spend her whole life inside the boundary of a house and is not permitted contact with anyone. Even hospitalization is not permitted.”
Fouzia Jacob, assistant coordinator for the Bishops’ Catholic Women’s Organization, expressed guarded optimism about the adopted amendments to the bill.
“There is little data available about such marriages; still the new law gives hope. A lot depends on implementation and the mind set in this male-dominated society,” she said.
“Almost all Christian women give up their right of inheritance. The dowry is the only inheritance they receive.”
http://www.ucanews.com/2011/10/13/new-law-offers-hope-for-womens-rights
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