Women Protection Bill 2006

In Pakistan a women is described in terms of her honor, and it is woven

around her sexuality. Honor is not only a matter of life and death for the
women but it also defines her family’s social status.

This research paper has been divided into a number of parts .The first part
provides explanation regarding the Hudood ordinance. Second part explains
the amendments that were introduced in 2006 as the Women protection bill.
The third part specifies the effectiveness and helps us conclude how this
protection bill has been helpful towards strengthening the legal and social
position of the women in Pakistan.

Women protection Bill 2006 is an attempt described by many to protect the

integrity of Pakistani women. It has been the most controversial bill ever.
This bill calls for amendment in the Hudood Ordinance which was introduced
during the Zia regime in 1979 after suspending the constitution; it defines
the punishments for adultery, non-marital or extra marital consensual sex
This ordinance was intended to implement Sharia law and to enforce
punishments mentioned in the Quran .

Brief introduction of the Hudood ordinance:

1. The Offences of zina (Enforcement of hadd) ordinance, 1979, and

Offences of qazf (false accusation of zina (Enforcement of hadd)
Ordinance, 1979, were the two ordinances which dealt with sexual
crimes. All sex outside of marriage was made a serious penal offence
punishable under the zina Ordinance, while false accusations of zina
were made punishable under the qazf 9deals with the false
acquisitions of zina/adultry/fornication)Ordinance.

2. The Ordinances does not make a distinction between rape and

adultery resulting in the accusation of fornication/zina/adultry of
divorced women in great numbers by their first husband especially in
rural areas. Apart from this since bail was very difficult to obtain under
this ordinance, many women spent years in jail on false accusations.

3. As rape, fornication/zina/adultry were placed on the same footing

subjecting both to the same kind of proof and punishment. The
requirement of proof for the maximum punishment of rape being the
same as adultry. The victim of rape had to produce four pious,
witnesses to prove the offence.
 These laws rendered most sexual assault victims unable to seek justice
through the criminal justice system, deeming them guilty of illegal sex
rather than victims of unlawful sexual abuse.

Comparative overview of zinâ(adultery and fornication) and rape in The

Offence of Zinâ(Enforcement of hadd) Ordinance 1979

Division of Proof for Punishment for Proof for Punishment for

Offender Zina/fornication/Adu Zina/fornication/adu Zina/fornication/ad Zina/fornication/ad
ltry and Rape ltry and Rape liable ultry and Rape ultry and Rape
Zina/adultry/Adu (punishments for to Hadd liable to Tazir liable to Tazir
ltry Offenses) (Punishment of
offenses not fixed
(Married and by God)
Non- Married)

Married Proof for Punishment for No standard of Maximum 10 years

Offender Zina/fornication/Adul Zina/fornication/Adul Proof is provided, improsinment,30
try try at the discretion of lashes and fine
the judge
1.Confession of the Stoning to death at
Crime a public place

2.Four truthful
Muslim eye witness

Un-Married Proof of Punishment for No standard of Maximum 10 years

Offender Zina/fornication/Adul Zina/fornication/Adul Proof is provided, improsinment,30
try Hudd try -Hudd at the discretion of lashes and fine
the judge
1.Confession of the 100 Lashes at a
Crime Public Place
2.Four truthful male
Muslim eyewitness

RAPE Proof Stoning to death at No standard of Imprisonment for

a public place Proof is provided, not less then 4 and
1.Confession of the at the discretion of more then 25
Married
Crime the judge years,30 lashes
Offender
2.Four truthful
Muslim eye witness

Un Married Proof 100 Lashes at a No standard of Imprisonment for

Offender public place and Proof is provided, 25 year and 30
1.Confession of the other punishments at the discretion of lashes
Crime including death the judge

2.Four truthful
Muslim eye witness
What women protection Bull does?

Women protection Bill 2006 was introduced to cover the gapes

that were present in the Hudood ordinance. For the very first time
Zina/fornication/Adultry is defined as a “bailable” crime. This Bill also
presented some other procedural safe guards to protect women.
The important amendments was made only in the offences of zina
(Enforcement of hadd) Ordinance, 1979 and in Offences of qazf
(Enforcement of hadd) Ordinance, 1979. All the other ordinances
remain un-amended
Main crux of the bill is as provided below

1. Four Eye witnesses are now required by the complainant to formally

lodge a compliant against a woman in case of Zina/fornication/Adultry.

2. It is essential that the Witnesses meet Islamic standards of moral

probity

3. The judge can issue a summon instead of a warrant in case of

suspicion on the part of the judge.

4. If the whole event turns out to be fabricated then the complainant and
all four alleged witnesses can be punished with a sentence of 80 lashes
for making a false accusation of adultery.

5. The term confession has now been defined to mean an actual

confession in court before a judge.

6. The Zina/fornication/Adultry Ordinance now excludes all those

punishments that are not defined in Qurani.e no punishment has been
specified in Quran for rape

7. Rape is now defined as a crime under Pakistan Penal Code, subject to

normal rules of procedure and evidence.
Comparative Overview of reforms introduced by the Protection of Women Act
2006
 Ordinance Crime Hudd: Proof Tazir :Proof Women protection
and and Bill
Punishment Punishment

Zina/fornication/ 1 Zina/fornicati No standard of All offenses except

Adultry under Zina/fornication/Adultry on/Adultry : Proof is the Hudd punishment
ordinance Proof provided, at the moved to Pakistan
1979 discretion of the Penal Court.
Confession judge
Introduced
2.Four Punishment:10 punishment
truthful years forZina/fornication/Ad
Muslim eye imprisonment , ultry liable to Tazzir
witness 30 lashes and punishable to
5years –bailable
3.100 Lashes
crime
for minor
and stoning
to death
incase of an
adult

2 Rape Same as Imprisonment 1.Hudd punishment

above for not less for rape repealed
then 4 and
more then 25 2.All kinds of sexual
years,30 lashes acts of penetration
under 16yearsa to be
considered as rape

3.Marital rape –an

offense

4.Complains of rape
not treated under
Zina/fornication/Adult
ry

3Kidnapping/abducting/ind Life and 30 Removed under

ucing women to compel for Lashes Pakistan Penal code
marriage

4. Kidnapping or 25 years and Removed under

abducting in order fine Pakistan Penal Code
to subject person to
unnatural lust

Selling person for Life and 30 Removed under

the purposes of lashes Pakistan Penal Code
prostitution

Buying person for Life and 30 Removed under

the purposes of lashes Pakistan Penal Code
prostitution
How far has it been successful?
How far it has been successful can be debated upon. Underlying belief is that the
Bill has not benefited women who in the past were unfairly accused of adultery and
even convicted of adultery when in fact they had been raped. The public opinion in
the society has been divided into two major halves, one group supporting the bill
and the other defying it. Religious groups are not satisfied with the amendments to
the ordinance as they believe it goes against the Article 2A and 227 of
The Constitution of Pakistan which states “Islam will be the state religion and no
laws will be passed which are repugnant to the Quran and Sunnah”.
“The proposed package of amendments to the
Hudood Ordinance is a revolt against the “Holy
Qur’aan and Sunnah” we take pledge from the
participants to resist any change in the Islamic
laws and vow to wage war against “anti-Islamic
laws”.i MMA and ARD Leaders comments
published on ‘The Nation:” 29 August 2006

The FSC(federal Sharia Court) has claimed that

elements of the Protection of Women Act are not
consistent with Islam and thus violate Article
203DD because they conflict with the FSC’s
support of the Hudood Ordinances. Asian Human
Rights Commission 1984 report on Women
protection bill

The key constraint of the religious parties is that it provides too much liberty to the women and
will lead to the creation of a sex free state. Under the new law which restricts the power of courts
to take up cases of adultery unless four witnesses have been provided. ii
The bill retains legal discrimination against women and religious minorities
whose status as witnesses under the Hudood ordinances has been retained
as cases of Hudood offences cannot be heard by non-Muslim judges. In other
words, the Protection of Women Act continues to discriminate against the
minority population groups who are not treated as equals.

The bill also retains the Hudd punishments of stoning to death which has
never been executed in Pakistan but its presence is of great concern for
most of the Human Rights activists
“Their endorsement justifies Zia’s Islamization
process and more importantly leaves the
temptation for the orthodoxy to agitate for their
implementation at an appropriate moment in
time” (Jahangir, 2006a and 2006b: 9)
Most of the Non government views it as ray of hope for the women; they
believe that it will lead to the many new laws in favor of women. As prior to
the Women protection bill 80-85 per cent of rape victims were booked for
adultery or zina and imprisoned. They claim that the new law has made a
new beginning and has been introduced at an appropriate time to review the
existing laws and practices in order to eliminate social and other forms of
discrimination against womeniii

But much work needs to be done; the civil society demanded the complete
repeal of the ordinance. But the clashes between the government and the
religious parties lead to only a few amendments.iv

Conclusion:
Women protection bill has been an issue for debate since the day it was
introduced. The public opinion about it remains divided to this very day. One
of the major reasons for the public uncertainty is due to the clash between
the liberals celebrating the reforms and the conservatives bidding to put an
end to this bill. The bill has been introduced to put an end to the misery of
women at large in Pakistan due to the lack of the Hudood ordinance to
distinguish between the rape and Zina/fornication/Adultry which resulted in
the bearing of serious consequences on reporting a rape on the part of the
victim. The exploitation of this gap by the offender in the court of law and
the failure on the part of the victim to produce witnesses to the crime
resulted in a large number of females victims in jail .The women protection
bill made only two amendments in the ordinance. Many amendments are still
required in the ordinance. The bill is silent on cases like sexual harassment
at work place, domestic violence etc. which lead to the passing of two more
bills by the government in 2010.The bill holds a controversial position due to
the lack of the public awareness regarding the legal procedures that are
adopted in the courts. It also takes a discriminatory stance at the religious
minorities who are residing in Pakistan as the Hudood offences cannot be
heard by non-Muslim judges. Most of the women in Pakistan are still afraid to
register cases in the courts due to the wider misconceptions surrounding the
bill.

In terms of the gender and development lenses this was introduced to

strengthen the position of women .This bill has in a way given partial liberty.
It provides them with some judicial support but on the contrary such women
are subject to public humiliation and are disregard by the religious
organizations. It puts a question mark on their social standing. The
government may be able to strengthen the legal position of the women but
fails to cater to the norms that surround this bill as most religious leaders
view this bill unislamic and against the Islamic Sharia court, claiming that it
is the duty of the state to ensure that moral standers are maintained in the
country which results in the resulting contradictions within the state itself
regarding the bill. It is also difficult to draw conclusions regarding the bill as
it leaves one confused about towards the role of the state especially in an
Islamic country like Pakistan.

To conclude that measure such as awareness, capacity building, networking

and mentoring are recommended to enhance women’s position. The
government needs to introduce more reforms in the legal system to provide
relief to women and remove misconceptions regarding amendments in the
law. This bill can be seen as a first step in the long journey towards the
liberation of women
i
MMA and ARD Leaders comments published on ‘The Nation:” 29 August 2006

ii
The Controversial Women Protection Bill by Lt. Col.(Retd) Tariq Sadaat

iii
Ray of hope-Dec16,2006”the Nation”
iv
Rubya Mehdi, « The Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act, 2006 in Pakistan », Droit et
cultures [En
ligne], 59 | 2010-1, mis en ligne le 06 juillet 2010. URL : http://droitcultures.revues.org/2016