“The history of men’s opposition to women’s emancipation is more interesting perhaps than the story of that emancipation itself.”
–Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own,1929.
The parliamentary body’s unanimous approval of the bills on honour killing and rape laws has awakened political furore. While many states in the world today have guaranteed security to women in their constitutions, ours is on the long and tedious path of struggling through. When the Punjab Assembly took a step towards the path of the protection of women through the Women’s Protection Act, it came as no surprise when Jamaat-i-Islami declared it as ‘unislamic’. This country has been a habitat to misogynistic men who carry around their own tainted virtue and yet raise fingers at women in the name of religion and culture. When the act was passed, some conservative clerics and religious leaders went to the extent of declaring the laws being conflicting of the teachings of the Quran. Motivated by such falsely constructed clauses, the series of honour killings have not come to a halt. It’s a pity that the many cases on honour killing prior to Baloch’s murder could not instigate the federal governing bodies to take firm action irrespective of fiery opposition. Not only has this delay stained the reputation of our country but also of our peace loving religion. The time has come for history to experience a paradigm shift in our country.