Appearance of women in ads should be banned: CII draft bill

ISLAMABAD: The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) is considering the draft of a model ‘Protection of Women’s Rights bill in the light of injunctions of Islam and the Shariah, which allows women to participate in politics, prohibits honour killings and rituals like ‘Wani’ and girls marriage with the Holy Quran and envisages minor punishment to a wife by the husband to mend her ways.

Addressing a press conference after two days of meetings of the CII, the council’s Chairman, Maulana Muhammad Khan Shirani, said the proposed legislation would ensure giving all the rights to women as enshrined in Shariah.

The proposed legislation drafted by Mufti Imdadullah, a member of CII, also provides for ownership rights to women, making her eligible to become a judge, while giving divorce on three counts at a time would also be a punishable crime. The bill is being proposed in response to the Punjab Assembly’s bill of violence against women.

The proposed law also says that there would be a ban on women to receive foreign guests, co-education beyond primary level, nursing of male patients by female nurses and proposes prohibition of educating music, dance and sculpture making. There would also be a ban on appearance of women in advertisements which could create social problems while a mother would also be bound to feed her baby for two years. It also prohibits advertisement of infant milks.

Maulana Shirani said the CII during its meeting had gone through 31 clauses of the proposed legislation while the remaining part of the bill would be considered in coming meetings. “The draft of the bill will be sent to the National Assembly and Senate after it is cleared by the council,” he said.

The legislation, being proposed by the CII, further states that there would be no punishment for women for switching over to any religion. However, a husband could try to convince her wife not to quit Islam as her religion. “A Muslim woman turning Murtad cannot be given capital punishment,” Maulana Shirani said, adding that forced change of religion of a woman will be a punishable crime with three years imprisonment.

The draft of the bill further says that an adult girl could accept Islam willingly but no woman could be forced to change her religion.