Gaps in the law

A study carried out by Strengthening Participatory Organization on laws in Sindh that are aimed at protecting women and children has found they are not serving their purpose. A barrage of laws has been passed in Sindh since 2011 aimed at improving the situation for women and children in society. These laws include the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act of 2013, the Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act 2013, the Sindh Commission on the Status of Women Act 2015 and the Anti-Women Practices Act 2011. While some cases have been filed under the Anti-Women Practices Act and the Child Marriages Restraint Act, the 2013 law against domestic violence has been left almost untouched. Only one trial is currently proceeding under this important piece of legislation. The study notes loopholes in the laws means they lose their teeth. There is also an absence of coordination between government departments.

We can easily recognise there are other problems too. In the first place, as with other similar laws, it is uncertain how much awareness exists about the presence on paper and how many potential litigants are able or willing to take the matter to court. In a highly patriarchal society, women traditionally do not make complaints about family situations given the lack of social support they receive. Even far graver crimes, such as ‘honour’ killings and child rape, continue to take place in most parts of the country. Plugging legal loopholes may be one way to strengthen the law. But, with rights organisations estimating that 75 to 80 percent of women in the country suffer abuse in one form or the other, it is important to go further. A mass awareness programme directed at both men and women is required to break through barriers. This should ideally begin at the school level. The failure to accept women as equal citizens creates multiple problems and promotes crime committed against them. The change, therefore, needs to be both legal and social. While a plethora of laws on all kinds of issues exist on our statute books, implementation is extremely poor. This applies to laws even in less sensitive spheres. Broad-ranging change then needs to back the laws if they are ever to become of any real relevance in saving women and children from the abusive situation they face.