Compromises in the Rape Law

Women in Pakistan have the risk of being prosecuted if they are unable to produce four male witnesses in cases dealing with rape and extra-marital sex. This law was introduced by Zia ul-Haq in an attempt to create an Islamic nation.

President Musharaff, in his efforts to de-Islamatize the country, had proposed a law in which four witnesses will not be required and cases will be dealt on the basis of circumstantial evidence.

However, conservatives belonging to the Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) party in Pakistan have condemned a change in the country’s rape and adultery laws. The military government in the country has pretty much decided to go along with the fundamentalist mullahs. Though the Muslim league has a clear majority in the parliament, the party is under pressure to keep the conservatives happy.

In a compromise between both parties, the rape victims will be allowed to choose between the mode of justice through the Hudood law or under the Pakistani civil code. However, the punishment for rape will remain death.