Much awaited law against honour killing evolves consensus

Islamabad

The killing of Qandeel Baloch has finally moved the government to pass much awaited law against honour killing, a task which could not be achieved despite thousands of women killed in the name of honour every year.

Maryam Nawaz Sharif, daughter of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, on Thursday announced on her social media website account that finally they have achieved consensus on the much awaited legislation on honour killing which was an uphill task. The bill will be presented before the joint sitting of Parliament in two weeks, she tweeted.

Initially, the bill was approved by the Senate in 2015, but it lapsed  due to opposition from the religious parties and the ruling party also failed to put it on priority and get it passed from the National Assembly.

However, according to sources, the killing of Qandeel Baloch has paved the way for reviewing the bill again, which forced the government to reach consensus for getting it passed from both the Houses of Parliament. This has been announced by the daughter of the prime minister as well that they have reached consensus to get the bill on honour killing passed in the upcoming joint sitting of parliament.

Pakistan has long been facing the killing of women in the name of honour. The data of National Police Bureau’s Gender Crime Centre claims that on average more than one woman is killed every day in the name of honor.

According to the National Police Bureau data, during 2014, 12,558 cases of violence against women and girls were reported, including 517 cases of domestic violence, 3,141 of physical abuse, 17 of psychological abuse, 26 of economic abuse, 665 of forced marriages, 46 of incest, 6 Vani, 1 of Sawara, 6 of Wata Sata, 41 of Life threat, 139 of stalking, 2,863 of sexual assault, 770 of sexual harassment, 29 of acid throwing, 381 of honour killing, 6 of stove burning, and 3,904 cases in other categories.

Similarly, the last seven years data of honour killing issued by the NGOs reflects that at least 4,061 women were killed from 2008 to 2014, reflecting the grim picture of status of women in Pakistan.

According to the National Police Bureau’s Gender Crime Centre’s data, 208 accused killers are yet to be arrested. Similarly, the data shows 29 victims of acid throwing, but no serious action has been taken against the perpetrators as yet.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan signed, ratified and adopted international instrument of ending violence against women--UN Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women (CEDAW), in 1996.  Also Pakistan is signatory to the MDG’s, where the third goal on “gender equality and empowerment of women” essentially acknowledges the need to address gender-based violence.

Although the government declared that all children of the ages 5–16 must go to school, currently, the literacy rate of females is 47% as of 2014, data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics suggests. Pakistan’s maternal mortality ratio, estimated to be 260 deaths per 100,000 births, with over 75 percent of deliveries taking place at home and skilled personnel attending only about 20 percent of them, is estimated to be one of the highest in South Asia.

As of 2008, out of the 47 million employed people in Pakistan, only 9 million were women, and of those 9 million, 70 percent worked in the agriculture. The proportion of all female-headed households in Pakistan was estimated as 10.9 percent--with women heading 11.5 and 9.7 of rural and urban households respectively, the National Institute of Pakistan Studies’ research reflects.

Gender inequalities and discrimination in Pakistan are deep-rooted issues, linked to the lower status of women and girls and their physical, economic, social and psychological dis-empowerment. For three consecutive years (2012, 2013 and 2014) Pakistan has been ranked second the last in the annual gender gap index produced by the World Economic Forum.

The Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, Article 27, states that women would have an equal opportunity to enter the civil service as men.  In 2007, the GoP adopted a policy that 10 percent positions in government were to be reserved for women and allocated according to the share of total civil service positions allocated to each province/region.

According to a multi district study in Pakistan by Rutgers World Population Foundation, 66 % of interviewed women had experienced sexual violence, and three fourth of the interviewed women reported having experienced physical violence. It is important to note that socio-cultural and structural barriers as well as victim shaming contribute to severe under-reporting of violence against women and girls.