Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act includes no Islamic provision
ISLAMABAD: The Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act 2016 does not talk about any of the Islamic principles either laying down the duties and obligations of each member of the family or relating to married and family life.
Unlike the general impression, the law is not husband-specific but it can be used against father, mother, brother and even sister of the aggrieved female member of any family. The law does not include the words including “wife” and “husband” even once.
Apparently the law is enacted to save wives from the physical abuse/violence of their husbands, its provisions are knitted so loosely that this Act even could badly hit the family system based on our socio-religious principles.Reading of the controversial Act shows that not even one single reference of Islamic teachings or jurisprudence has been given in the law. Consequently, the state intervention into a family life to save a femal member from “violence” entirely depends on western standards reflected in the law.
“Violence” as per the law does not cover physical beating alone but also include “psychological violence” and “economic abuse” besides sexual violence, stalking or a cybercrime.
Under the law, a female aggrieved person could lodge a complaint against his own father, mother, sister, brother or husband for any category of the violence defined in the Act.
Following the western culture, the Act does not allow any member of the family whether he/she is a father, mother, brother, sister or husband of the aggrieved person to limit her right to freedom of movement.
Defining the term “psychological violence”, the Act says that it includes psychological deterioration of aggrieved person which may result in anorexia, suicide attempt or clinically proven depression from defendant’s oppressive behaviour or “limiting freedom of movement of the aggrieved person” and that condition is certified by a panel of psychologists appointed by District Women Protection Committee.
This particular form of “violence” seriously challenges the right of the guardian, who may be a father, mother, brother, sister or husband, to protect the “aggrieved” female member (daughter, sister or wife) from anything that the guardian genuinely believes is in the best interest of the person approaching the state against him/her.
For example if any parents’ restrict (which does not include physical beating) their young daughter from going out late in the evening or avoid certain company, and such restrictions cause depression to the daughter then it could lead to enforcement of this Act against even the parents.
The Law even in its preamble admits that besides checking violence against women, the target is to create an “enabling environment to encourage and facilitate women freely to play their desired role in the society”. There is no provison included in the law where a father, mother, brother, sister (elder) or husband is exempted from proceeding under the law if he/she being the guardian imposes any restrictions on the aggrieved person (daughter, sister, wife) as per the teaching of Islam.
Under the law, the "aggrieved person" means a female who has been subjected to violence by a defendant; “domestic violence” means the violence committed by the defendant with whom the aggrieved is living or has lived in a house when they are related to each other by consanguinity, marriage or adoption; "defendant" means a person against whom relief has been sought by the aggrieved person; “violence” means any offence committed against the human body of the aggrieved person including abetment of an offence, domestic violence, sexual violence, psychological abuse, economic abuse, stalking or a cybercrime; Explanations.- In this clause: (1) “economic abuse” means denial of food, clothing and shelter in a domestic relationship to the aggrieved person by the defendant in accordance with the defendant’s income or taking away the income of the aggrieved person without her consent by the defendant; and (2) “psychological violence includes psychological deterioration of aggrieved person which may result in anorexia, suicide attempt or clinically proven depression resulting from defendant’s oppressive behaviour or limiting freedom of movement of the aggrieved person and that condition is certified by a panel of psychologists appointed by District Women Protection Committee.