Domestic Violence Bill- A legislation against misogynists or Islam?

Her eyes swollen from crying, her nose miserably red, her condition forgone. This is the story of Asma(pseudonym) and many other women, children, transgenders, people from minorities, and other vulnerable communities. People who have been a target of violence, harassment, rape, and all other crimes of power exhibition. And yet when any efforts are made to cater these crimes or criminals in any way, numerous people of the society try to delay the passing of such orders or laws by hook or crook. Recently, a domestic violence bill was presented in the Parliament which was highly criticized by such sections.

In the bill, domestic violence is defined clearly mentioning all forms of physical, psychological, emotional, sexual, and economic abuse against women, children, and other vulnerable communities. The definitions of all such acts are given in the bill. The second part of the bill provides punishments saying that all acts falling under Pakistan Penal Code would be punished as such. However, acts which are not dealt by it would be punishable with an imprisonment of 0.5-3 years and a fine of 20000-100000 depending upon the severity of the crime. It also calls for the court to decide all such cases within a span of 90 days. The third part provides for the safety of the aggrieved person and says he/she shall remain in the house even if they don’t have any beneficial interest in it while the offender would stay away from the aggrieved person. The offender will not only stay away from the aggrieved person but will also be made to wear a GPS-tracked bracelet so that he won’t go near the aggrieved person and no such act is committed again. The fourth part calls for a protection committee to be made which will provide guidance and legal help to the aggrieved person.

The major opposition to this bill came from religious parties in the assembly who said that it was Un-Islamic. Senator Mushtaq of Jumaat Islami made a comprehensive speech regarding this. First point that he raised was that it was not protecting mothers, children, and families whose protection is the responsibility of the state according to article 38 of the constitution. But only if he had read Part II(Clause 3) of the bill which clearly extends its scope to mothers, children, and vulnerable people. His second objection was that parents maintain a respectable position for children and cannot be treated like other people and passing of this bill would also mean extending punishments to them. And I completely agree with his first point but regarding his second point, this punishment is for those parents who have been involved in criminal acts against their children. To shed some light on the crimes committed in recent, in May 2021 a man from Sahiwal raped his own daughter; just a week ago a court in Karachi sentenced a man for raping his daughter; not to mention the countless examples of violence inflicted upon children by their parents every day which goes unnoticed. A report by an NGO named Sahil released in 2018 said that about 11 children are subjected to violence every day. (These figures represent just the numbers reported and the actual numbers are much greater)Thirdly, he mentioned that Islam gives the right of divorce and second marriage to the male spouse. But the bill didn’t mention anything against it rather it said that the threat of second marriage or divorce could not be used by a husband against his wife. His last point was that a fight between spouses was their personal matter and should be left to deal it by themselves but unfortunately, he forgot the very basic rule of criminal law which says that the state is a party in all the crimes.

The critics demanded this bill be sent to The Islamic Ideology Council but the council itself is unconstitutional and legally is not functional and yet, the Parliament will seek advice from an institution that itself is not in line with the laws. Article 228 of the constitution has fixed the number of members in the council between 8-20. Currently, it has 12, so this requirement is satisfied. The second requirement calls for at least one member to be a woman, currently, it has none; hence it violates the constitution. The third requirement says that no less than two members are persons each of whom is or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court or High Court in the case of which, the number again stands at zero hence in conflict with the constitution which deems the council unfunctional. (It also has a requirement that one-third of its members should have been involved in Islamic research or teaching but due to unavailability of data, no comment can be made regarding this)

Generally, consider the fact that a bill regarding the violence of women was sent to a council whose all members are men. Won’t the decision be biased? Can the fate of 110 million women be decided by 12 men? The same council of men who had advised husbands in 2016 to beat their wives if they refuse the demand of sexual intercourse (in fact legalizing marital rape), if they refuse to dress up as per their desires or if they don’t take a bath after intercourse or menstrual period. A country that is ranked sixth-worst regarding the safety of women in the world, a country that is the fourth worst country regarding gender gap. In such a country a mere bill has shaken the very foundations of chauvinists who are trying to use Islam for their own benefits, to continue what they do the best. Misogyny