Fight Hudood, Protect Women

Re: # 394

Oye Chacha Zee,

Read the full text of the High Court Judgment. Then read #358. You will find common ``perverse observations and inferences`` in both. That is why the Supreme Court could set asid e the judgment as bad in law and not susainable.

Regards.
Your mediocre nephew.

Re: # 401

okhla99

``That is why the Supreme Court could set aside the judgment as bad in law and not sustainable.``

I don`t think so. Sc had to take up the case suo moto in view of the controversy of jurisdiction between the HC, Multan, and the Shariah Court. No observation of the kind stated above by Okhla has perhaps been made by the SC on the merit of the judgment made by the HC in the case.

Doesn`t all this handling of the Mai`s case from start to end exposes the stupidity and corruption of our judicial system? One head is already rolling and God knows how many more would role.

Re: # 406

Oye Teshah,

I think you need to read up on the judgments on mukhtaran and get your facts straight.

On 18. March 2005, the Supreme Court had intervened suo moto and had set aside the ruling of the Sharia Court. In the same order the Supreme Court had ruled that the Lahore High Court Judgment would stand and the five acquitted earlier were ordered to be released.

However, on 26 March, 2005 Mukhtaran (petitioner) filed an elaborate Appeal before the Supreme Court which was decided on 28 June 2005.

And no, neither Mukhtaran alone nor the Supreme Court could have resolved the tangle without the abundant legal support available to the petitioner.

Quote ..``Mukhtaran has been represented by panels of lawyers. One such team is headed by Pakistan`s Attorney General, Makhdoom Ali Khan. Another panel is led by Aitzaz Ahsan, a top lawyer and politician belonging to the Pakistan Peoples Party who has been representing Mukhtaran pro bono. Mukhtaran`s cousin and close friend, law student Naseem Ghazlani, is said to be her constant companion in her dealings with lawyers.``..unquote

And if you are really interested, read the petition and the affidavits. You will be amazed.

Re: # 410

okhla99

Excuse me dear okhla; you, instead of replying to my observation in #406, have started hanky panky. I am least interested in the petitions and affidavits submitted by the petitioner. I am interested only in knowing how the case stands now in the SC.

I am of the view that CJSC had unnecessarily meddled in this case as he had been doing kite-flying in many other cases. It was his this excessively overactive `media circus` which landed him into the predicament he is facing presently.

As regards Mai, `Uski to guddi udde hi udde` whatever is decided by any court as she has attained a sustainable all-win position, thanks to the media and NGO circus.

Very sad!!!

[In the weeks following her death, Pakistani women received further bad news when the Supreme Court of Pakistan held that they could not issue “khula” divorces to women who did not have the consent of their husbands. This decision leaves countless women facing abuse helpless and entirely dependent on their husbands. ]

http://4anaa.org/

http://www.4anaa.org/

International Women`s day Message

March 7, 2007

Dear Friends:

Tomorrow International Women’s Day will be commemorated around the world. There will be rallies, talks and protests that will mark the progress made by women in the past year. As ANAA’s President, I am torn between the pride I feel for the courage of Pakistani women who have persevered in their struggle for equality and justice and deep disappointment at the way their struggles have been politically manipulated by the political forces in Pakistan.

In the past year, there was much talk about the Women’s Protection Bill that was passed by both Houses in Pakistan. Reports insisted that this would dramatically alter the status of women in Pakistan. Among other things, it was promised that rape victims would be able to easily get justice in Pakistan. DNA tests would be used to process evidence. As human rights and women’s groups celebrated this Bill, little thought was given to the reality that there is only one DNA lab in the whole of Pakistan and that rape victims are often unable to pay even the bus fare to the police station let alone the cost of DNA analysis for their case. As media reports died down, I fear that the international community has bought the vacuous promises in the Bill and nearly abandoned the fight on behalf of Pakistani women.

As the Pakistani Government was touting its gender sensitivity under the Women’s Protection Bill, the Hasba Bill was passed in the NWFP assembly which established a mohtasib or “moral police”. Since the passage of the Bill, women have routinely been harassed at educational institutions, public buildings and other public spaces. The passage of the Bill presents a severe threat to women in Pakistan,

Just in the past month, Pakistani women faced a severe blow when Zille Huma, female minister in the Punjab Government was assassinated at the hands of a religious zealot. The same man, had threatened to kill other women for not wearing the proper Islamic hijab (not the traditional headcovering or dupatta which she wore) and had not been apprehended because of the interference of various religious leaders. In the weeks following her death, Pakistani women received further bad news when the Supreme Court of Pakistan held that they could not issue “khula” divorces to women who did not have the consent of their husbands. This decision leaves countless women facing abuse helpless and entirely dependent on their husbands.

However, I would not end this letter without also commending my Pakistani sisters for their incredible courage in the face of all this adversity. A few months ago, Pakistani women in Lahore participated in a marathon, despite the opposition of religious parties. Every day, millions of Pakistani women brave discrimination, harassment and an inegalitarian system and continue in their struggle to get education, participate in the workforce and get better lives for their children. We at ANAA would like to salute these women and renew our commitment to raising their voice before Pakistanis and the international community. We urge everyone to join us in our commitment and support the struggles of Pakistani women.



Sincerely,

Amna Buttar

President ANAA

#389

Ama yaar Okhla, don`t try to dodge the question! :)

Have the judges of the Pakistani Supreme Court taken an oath of loyalty to the Pakistani army?

Or not?

If yes, they should follow their ``marching orders``! Case closed!

What is all this brou-haha about, then! Just feel-good stuff and you know it!

the judiciary is helpless before a corrupt executive. dont blame the judges for police misconduct that is allowed to go unchecked by the executive, as clearly happened in this case.

okla #385 no one can chase anyone away from chowk. so dont worry on that account. i appreciate where you are coming from, and am all for civilized dialogue.

but what you are seeing here is not mere logic - since teshah knows as well as anyone else what i wrote to him in the post below. no one can even change anyone`s thinking on chowk - mindsets are based on a lifetime of experience, and mere ``logic`` will not change mindsets. in teshah`s mind, there will always be ``upper caste`` and ``lower caste`` people, and yet he will never have a problem calling himself a muslim. in teshah`s mind a woman from a poor family is no better than a cow or a goat, while a wealthy man surrounded by gunmen is to be looked up to.

all one can do is rant a bit on chowk. if it changes someone`s mind on an issue, fine. but i wont hold my breath for that to happen.

teshah #384

You think that you can write #358, where, e.g., you say that ``Any how thanks to her alleged rape by the Mastoies all rural women are to day envying her fraud rape. Many of them followed her trick but failed to get Mai like justice. ``and then claim that ``I never condoned rape of any sex.``?

You say that the court did not find any ``proof``? Who do you think you are fooling? The woman was ``sentenced`` to this crime by the panchayat in the open - and you claim that there is not enough proof of the rape?? All this proves is what you know as well as anyone else - that police in Pakistan can come up with ``witnesses`` who will say whatever the highest bidder wants them to say.

As for ``honor``? You talk about ``honor``? A woman may be raped, but she is dishonored only in the eyes of shameless men who have no clue about honor and whose ``honor`` can be bought for cash.

Re: # 387

themad32

You say:

``The woman was ``sentenced`` to this crime by the panchayat in the open - and you claim that there is not enough proof of the rape??``

It was the High Court which said that their was no evidence of rape in this case. It had even passed a stricture against the trial court as to why it sentenced the accused in the case to death in the absence of any evidence whatsoever of the charge of rape against them. If the case had gone to the Shariah Court you, along with the Mai, would also have been sentenced to 80 straps for `Qazf` in case you had failed to provide duly qualified four eye witnesses.

Again you quote me:

``Any how thanks to her alleged rape by the Mastoies all rural women are to day envying her fraud rape. Many of them followed her trick but failed to get Mai like justice``

and allege that this obsevation of mine goes to prove that I condoned rape.

How you concluded that I wonder!

Have you not read the statement of Naseemah of Obrho, allegedly gang raped in Sindh? She pleaded that she should be awarded justice like Mai. And so had been clamouring Dr. Shazia but with no avail. `Yih martabaahe buland jisse mil gaya mil gaya``.

#385
[Let us not permit our intellects (albeit mediocre) to fall into the same trap.]

I wholeheartedly agree with your ``albeit`` estimate. :)

Regarding the Pakistani Supreme Court, please correct me if I am wrong, but hasn`t every judge there (as well as the chief justice) taken an oath of loyalty to the army? Isn`t that the reason that a few years ago the then chief justice and several judges were forced to resign? Because they refused that oath at the time.

So what kind of charade is this - this claim of ``independence of the judiciary``?

Who is fooling whom?!

Re: # 386

Judiciary in Pakistan is ``committed`` to upholding the rule of law,..etc etc.

That it is ``independent`` has never been my contention.

A committed judiciary is distinct from an independent judiciary.
However, both are equally capable of abuse or of being abused.
Also, both are capable of dispensing quality justice.

And yes, both contain elements(judges) who provide ``the best justice money can buy``.

#375, 376
Chacha Zee and Tahmed,

The Multan bench of the High Court followed the same ``logic`` as Teshah in acquitting the rapists in the Mukhtaran Mai case. So, the judges there would also qualify as ``mass murderers`` in your opinion.

Once again, flawed logic, skewed arguments, opposing view points need to be countered. The interactors need not be hounded out of Chowk. We can disagree with them, like we can with the High Court. We should tolerate them and try to reason with them and no, this would not amount to ``sitting in their lap``.

After all ``intolerance`` is the hallmark of Jehadi mindsets. Let us not permit our intellects (albeit mediocre) to fall into the same trap.

Jab okhal mein sir diya to moosal se kya darna!!

Okhla and others, please pay attention.

It really does not give this interactor any pleasure when I speak ill of the country of Pakistan or its residents.

It REALLY does not. In fact, it hurts me a lot!

I sincerely believe that we are the same people and what applies to one very much applies to the other, perhaps with different context. And the depravities we witness in one are very much capable of reincarnating in the other in a much shorter time frame - shorter than most realize.

The problem is, yaaran - exactly what the problems have been forever. I don`t see you guys facing up to a whole lot of crappy stuff. Making jihadis into heroes is one such crap, looking away from the acts (hopefully now stopped, though one doubts it) of your own rulers of pumping jihadis and hijacking civilian airlines is another, and building up demagogues - who gave you that segregationist mindset - building those very demagogues up into shining-armored knights - that is the height of hypocrisy.

And if all that were not enough, the worst offense is that you have watched passively while all that outrage took place and continue to do so - so much so that your own intelligensia - which knows better, is more cowed down than a bakree about to be sacrificed!

If you don`t face up to crap - guess what you will forever keep.

CRAP!

That is what makes me say the things I say on the state of the state of Pakistan. Sorry if it comes out sounding crappy.

Zahra,

Agreed mostly, but with a correction: abuse of Ahamdis and abuse of women are not two issues worlds apart (despite your seeming suggestion). Rather, they are somewhat related … in that they underscore how easily and swiftly Islam can be distorted and used against one demographic group or another.

Ullema may band together and call anything Islam as long as it fits their nefarious agenda. Exploitation of Ahmadis and women are but a few examples; and this is only the beginning.

If allowed to go unchecked, this “Islamic law” will turn against non-Muslims, Shiites and other sects within Islam, business community, education system, government bureaucracy, and so on. Group that will benefit most from this exploitation is jamaati-type sunni, male, wahabhi pricks … which explains why they are pushing most vehemently for this “Islamization”. This shariah business aims to marginalize one group after the other ... until the society ends up in the dark ages.