In 2009, I wrote an article on violence against women, titled, Time to stand up and say No and it carried the report of the cases of crimes against women in just forty eight hours in Punjab. In a span of two days there were twenty three reported cases of women murdered, maimed, injured, raped, hatched to death with their body cut in small pieces and burned by acid throwing, mostly by their own brothers, fathers, husbands and other family members. Most of the reasons quoted were allegations of adultery, elopement or marriage of choice. The total number of crimes against women in Punjab was 5722.

The crimes against women have not declined since then. In fact they are on the rise and according to the statistics given by the Punjab Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) in their Annual Gender Parity report 2015 there have been a total of 6,505 reported cases of violence against women. These include 2, 720 rape cases, 666 murders, 588 severe beatings, 173 honour killings and 22 acid attacks. According to Aurat Foundation Annual report in the year 2009 and 2010 there was an increase of 8 to 13 percent cases of VAW in Punjab and in 2011 there was a 42 percent increase in the crimes against women compared to 2008.

Violence against women remains to be the accepted norm and tradition in our region for as long as one can remember; but it was indeed Zia-ul-Haq who took it to new heights and institutionalized it through Hudood ordinance. The offenses of rape and adultery under PPC were repealed and replaced by ‘hadd’ and ‘tazir’. Under the Hudood ordinance a punishment of ‘hadd’ was only liable if the accused confessed in the court or if there were four eye-witnesses to testify. The difference between rape and adultery was completely abolished.

Violence against women was not only legalized but also given religious sanctity. As the new law supported the perpetrators the crime against women soared. Countless women and girls, as young as twelve years old were prosecuted for ‘extra marital intercourse’ when the circumstances mandated for statuary rape. A famous case was that of Safia Bibi, a blind woman from KP, who was prosecuted for being raped and getting pregnant afterwards. Her rapist was acquitted. Another such case was of twenty six year old Zafran Bibi who was raped by her brother-in-law. The proof of her crime was the child she gave birth to. A senior Judge Anwar Ali gave the sentence of death by stoning saying that he was following the Quran in doing so. Later in an appeal to Federal Shariat court she was cleared of ‘Zina’.

How did the requirement of eyewitness testimony for adultery turn into the requirement of eyewitnesses in case of rape is a mystery known to Zia-ul-Haq and his evil cronies as well as the so called ‘Ulema’ who deliberately became accomplices in this vile crime against humanity.

The degradation of a woman was complete after that, her situation as half a human whose blood carried no repercussion, legal or social. The society as a whole did not protest and those who did were labeled as the agents of the west. The number of crimes against women skyrocketed and the available data of the last thirty years would show the blood drenched history of the gory crimes against women. Innumerable women were killed by their in-laws on the slightest of matters, on not having enough dowry, not having male offspring, or complaining about anything. 

Probably the most horrific thing was not just crime against women but the way it became the part of the acceptable norms of the society. Very few criminal were actually persecuted as there was no one to peruse the case. Even if a man killed all his sisters he was conveniently ‘forgiven’ by the rest of the family. If only there was social retribution to their crimes even that would have been a ray of hope, but many of the grossest of criminals after killing their wives were even able to marry again.

The question remains: why is there so much hatred for women in our society? It is not even a question of being educated or not. There are so many ‘educated’ families who believe that men must have control over the women in terms of their life choices. It is almost unconceivable that a girl can make decisions about her marriage and career herself, against the wishes of her family, and in countless cases the defiance has triggered violence. The cause of violence against women is deep rooted in the very low status and her multiple vulnerabilities. Only two percent of Pakistani women participate in the formal sector of employment. Ninety-three percent of rural women and seventy-seven percent of urban women are illiterate. Strict family, tribal and patriarchal system dictates that women are the property of male family members.

The commodification of women is the main factor contributing to violence against them. As long as men believe women woman to be their property, they will continue to feel that they can do as they please with them. Countless women have suffered and are suffering emotional, physical and psychological torture at the hands of their husbands, which was never even considered worthy of being called a misdemeanor. The wife bashers are honourable members of this Islamic society and never looked down upon by all and sundry.

After a long time the government of the Punjab has passed a historical law, ‘protection of women against violence and it states:

“for the rescue, protection, shelter and rehabilitation of the women victim of violence including domestic violence. The overall objective of the Bill is to institute a protection system for prevention of violence against women and for the protection and rehabilitation of the woman victims. The Bill encompasses all types of violence against women including domestic violence, emotional, psychological and verbal abuse, economic abuse, stalking and cybercrimes. The Bill proposes that on a complaint by an aggrieved person, or authorized agent or District Women Protection Officer, the Court may pass an interim order, protection order, residence order and monetary order if it is satisfied that violence has taken place or is likely to take place”.

For the first time the state acknowledged the wide ranging presence of violence against women and give the woman an opportunity to protect herself. Just the opportunity to reach out and ask for help, represents an entire paradigm shift.

On one hand the law passed is a great source of hope for the most vulnerable women and on the other it has completely exposed the misogynist society in the reaction that was seen from all sorts of people. The reaction of the right wing religious parties and their hatred for women is a well-known fact but the reaction of many so called educated literary people including some of the leading columnists and TV anchors, who declare themselves to be the ‘opinion makers’ has been really amusing. Their hatred and frustration has made them openly declare the law as an NGO and ‘Western agenda’. The counter argument presented against the law is that it will undermine the sanctity of ‘home’, it will jeopardize the fabric and social structure of the ‘family’ and cause rupture in the ‘loving’ and ‘caring’ system of matrimony which has  protected women forever. These critics have only got to look at the statistics of violence against the women in the last ten years alone to see just how many women were abused and violated in their own homes and that the institution of marriage does not ensure any protection per se. 

It is amusing however to see people who use western technology, education, literature, systems ideas and ideologies for everything in their lives suddenly have issues with the western ideology or equal rights for all citizens. Many of them may not be wife bashers themselves but the very idea that the woman is also an equal human being and has rights and can complaint against violence is too much for them to digest.

The frustration and anger is stemming out of the fact that for the first time the state has reached out to the women as equal citizens and the law-although not new in many of its aspects – is a declaration that the state recognizes the woman and her rights. A woman might be somebody’s wife or sister or daughter but the fact is that legally she does not need any relation to identify herself other than being a citizen of Pakistan and having full rights of life and liberty provided by the Constitution of Pakistan and no relationship, biological or social can undermine her legal rights. A woman is not a commodity. She is an equal citizen with equal rights.