Gender-Based Violence (GBV) has always been an issue in Pakistan. With the country ranking 145 out of 146 countries on the Gender Parity Index (World Economic Forum), this puts Pakistan next to Afghanistan on the bottom end of the list as far as women’s rights are concerned.
Unfortunately, the laws that are supposed to safeguard women’s rights, such as the Hudood Ordinance, have ironically contributed to the increase in violence against women in the country instead.
The Hudood Ordinance, added in 1979, established Islamic law-based sanctions to safeguard sexual morality violations but ended up completely misrepresenting Islamic teachings and texts.
The unfortunate circumstance in which they came about inside the Constitution by an overtly religious military dictator Zia ul Haq; it is more unfortunate that they have never been able, by any government or lawmaker, to be questioned or repealed.
Pakistan has inherited a legacy of extreme misogynistic and cruel values that remain unquestioned due to fear of repercussions.
Today, the Hudood Ordinance is widely criticized by Human Rights organizations for being discriminatory towards women, and has even been held responsible as being used to excuse GBV, including honor killings.
One of the main criticisms of the Hudood Ordinance is that it places the burden of proof on the victim in cases of rape and adultery. Under this law, a woman must provide between two to four adult male witnesses to prove that she has been raped or committed adultery otherwise, she risks being accused of adultery herself.
This provision is particularly problematic as it puts women at risk of being punished for reporting sexual assault, which discourages women from coming forward and seeking justice.
Another key note of criticism is the complex language used in implementation, which provides a stark social injustice; mixing the word ‘rape’ and ‘fornication’ as the same thus leaving the victim as having committed the crime – being blamed for an act of violence done upon them. This complex situation has done more injustices to victims of sexual violence than any other country and is shameful. In addition, to date Pakistan did not have a safeguard for males that would be placed under the threat of sexual assault and violence either; which leaves many males, both children and adults, to predatory behavior with no sanctuary within the justice system.
The lack of education, language, and legal framework has been a major cause of deviant behavior against vulnerable communities. Without a legal framework to distinguish between aggravated assault and consent, society will not be able to understand the distinction.
Sexual violence and crimes against children are considered significant issues in Pakistan. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) report that only 10% of sexual abuse cases are actually reported to the authorities; crimes include rape, gang rape, and child sexual abuse. The situation is further complicated by a lack of trust in the justice system and social stigma.
Human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) have called for the Hudood Ordinance to be repealed and for the Pakistani Government to introduce laws that protect the rights of women.
The Act was revised in 2006, but its legacy remains in Pakistan, where patriarchal attitudes have led to the normalization of violence against women.
According to the United Nations, Pakistan has one of the highest rates of violence against women in the world, with an estimated 90% of women experiencing some form of domestic violence during their life-time.
The Hudood Ordinance has been identified as a contributing factor to this problem, as it creates a culture of impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence and undermines the credibility of women who report such crimes.
Amnesty International has also documented cases where women have been subjected to severe physical and mental abuse, including torture and forced confinement, under the Hudood Ordinance.
The Hudood Ordinance should be repealed and new laws should be introduced to prioritize the safety and wellbeing of women.
Secondly, the Government can invest in public education campaigns to raise awareness of sexual-based violence and encourage women to report it. The education and knowledge imparted by authorities through different media will be vital. However taboo these subjects are, conversations must be opened here in order to progress.
Pakistan’s justice system can be reformed to ensure victims of sexual violence are provided with support and protection to pursue justice and perpetrators are held accountable. It is only those in power who would be able to do so.
The question arising now is how to reconstruct the values of an entire generation who have inculcated this as a social behavioral norm.
If studied carefully, Pakistan has made attempts for the needful in terms of ‘adjustments’ to its draconian laws, for the benefit of international watchdogs regarding human rights; but still, the very wording of the Hudood Ordinance goes against the principles of implementation of such.
In a society like Pakistan, where religious and cultural norms lead to misogynist practices, a swift and prolonged remodeling of legislation and regulations regarding oppression against women is needed.
Pakistan is a signatory to numerous international covenants, conventions, and agreements regarding violence against women, such as the UN Conferences on Women, Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) 1979, the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women 1993, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
These agreements call for the protection of women and other socially excluded groups from any type of violence.
As a signatory to CEDAW, Pakistan has enacted several laws regarding GBV, such as National Commission on Status of Women (NCSW) (Amendment) Act 2018, Women in Distress and Detention Fund (Amendment) Act 2018, Enforcement of Women’s Property Act 2020, Zainab Alert, Response and Recovery (Amendment) Act 2020, National Gender Policy Framework (2022), Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Ordinance (2020), and the Domestic Violence against Women (Prevention and Protection) Act in all four provinces of Pakistan.
To improve the legal representation of women and protect them from GBV, the government has also amended relevant portions of the Criminal Law Offenses pertaining to Rape and the Pretext of the Honor Act 2016 and enacted the Anti-Sexual Harassment Act, Anti Women Practices Act, and Acid Crimes and Acid Control Act.
Irony would have it that despite all these governmental efforts and regulations on paper, there has been a rise in GBV in the past few years in Pakistan.
Minimum or next to nil efforts have been made to implement the updated policies, Acts, or Bills due to them being struck down in the final stages by fundamentalist opposition in the Parliament.
The uptick in GBV in Pakistan is an amalgamation of misinterpretation of Islamic teachings, cultural norms, male-oriented society, encouragement of misogynistic behavior via religious extremist mindsets, and lack of implementation of concerned laws.
Perhaps the evolution towards progress would be protecting the marginalized and vulnerable groups as a priority. It must be inculcated as a sense of civic duty and into the mindsets of the citizens as part of the culture first.
