Flaws pointed out in proposed law on domestic violence

PESHAWAR: The civil society members on Wednesday believed that the proposed law would make domestic violence more prevalent in the society.

Speaking at a media briefing, they stressed the need for putting in place the entire mechanism for ending violence against women and domestic workers. Aurat Foundation Resident Director Shabina Ayaz said it was better to have no legislation than to pass the proposed bill that, she believed, would promote violence instead of curbing it.

She said some of the clauses of the proposed bill were contradictory to the existing laws. She cited the example of the child age in the proposed bill to strengthen her point.

In the proposed bill, child has been defined as “a person who at the time of Commission of offence has not attained the age of 15 years.”

Other speakers pointed to several flaws in the proposed bill and urged the government to address these flaws before tabling the bill in the assembly. The speakers alleged that child and women issues had been stagmatised to the point that even the Law Department had sent the bill to the Council of Islamic Ideology before sending it to the assembly for discussion.