Loopholes in implementation of pro-women laws discussed

Karachi

As cases of violence against women continue to rise, Rozan, a non-governmental organisation, held a closed discussion earlier this week to identify loopholes hampering the implementation of laws made to curb gender based violence.

The meeting took the following laws into consideration: Domestic Violence Act, 2010; the Hindu Marriage Act, 2016; Child Marriage Restraint Act, 2013 and Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention Act, 2010.

Former provincial police chief, Niaz Ahmed Siddiqui, spoke on how he was closely working with police authorities to train them regarding procedures of dealing with such cases, particularly because representatives were more often than not unaware of the laws.

Citing a case where two men were accused of hitting their sister-in-law over a property dispute were put behind bars, the IG said that the punishment was not given to harm but to improve the accused, hence, counselling also held a lot of importance.   “However it is important to note that it’s not easy to register an FIR in cases of domestic violence because the police usually consider it a private matter and offer reconciliation instead,” said Erum Javed, a representative of Rozan.

President of the Justice Help Line, M Nadeem Sheikh and Saleem Michael, also cited cases of violence they came across almost on a daily basis, while their organisation was currently dealing with a unique case where a woman was killed by her in-laws but it was her three-year old child which was to become a petitioner. Speaking of the Marriage Act, Pakistan Hindu Forum President, Dr Jaipaal Chhabria, said there were too many laws but lawlessness could still not be curbed.

“I fail to understand why this is called a Marriage Act when it’s a mere registration of Hindu marriages - a right given to the community after seven long decades. Had it been an Act, it would have ensured various rights such as the right to divorce, adopt, and remarry among others.”

Referring to the Child Marriage Restraint Act, renowned lawyer Javed Qazi said there was a difference between a ‘law’ and a ‘well-settled law’. “After an act is passed, three months are allocated to draft rules of business but it usually takes more than the allotted time which leads to impediments in promulgation.”

It was also observed that delay in such cases cause difficulties for the complainant, because for instance if a girl is yet to turn 18, the case was deliberately stretched till the time she reached the legal age.

Citing the law on acid attack, Michael said strict measures were needed to control sale of acid which was easily available in local markets. It was agreed that the state should bear the cost of treatment while the survivor should be duly compensated instead of being ignored.

Mehnaz Rehman of the Aurat Foundation observed that while people were usually eager to get laws passed, nobody was willing to invest their energies or efforts required to get the laws passed by the lawmakers, neither the police authorities nor the civil society. “At times in pursuit of appreciation, many organisations tend to forget about the rules of business; we need to work closely together to demand necessary amendments and make sure that the people are aware about the laws.”