The CII’s model bill

The CII is again in the news for no good reasons. The proposed 163-point bill drafted by the council led by Maulana Muhammad Khan Sheerani addresses property, marriage, motherhood, crimes and violence against women, and apostasy. The council half-heartedly says that violent acts such as acid throwing should be thoroughly investigated rather than declaring them as un-Islamic and inhuman. It’s parochial, misogynistic thinking is evident when it says that female nurses should not attend to male patients, and calls for a ban on coeducation past the primary level. This is tantamount to promoting racial segregation and gender disparity in an already fragmented society. This is against Article 25(1)(2). Pakistan cannot afford to be pushed back into regression and polarisation.

On the issue of contraception, the draft says that a woman cannot use contraception without her husband’s permission. This can make man the sole arbiter in conjugal matters that can result in child and maternal mortality. The Council of Islamic Ideology has failed on many fronts. It cannot come up with solid and measured solutions on the role of DNA in rape cases, child marriage, human cloning, and test-tube babies. In the presence of parliament and higher courts, it is better to disband it.

Seed Ullah Khan Wazir

Bannu