Pakistani Islamists protest as new rape law signed

When I first heard about this report during the early morning hours, I wondered where this could possibly be happening — and when I saw it was Pakistan, it started to make a bit of sense. It would take a military leader like Musharraf to push something like this law past the Islamic clergy. Only the strength of a strong leader backed by a lot of arms could safely do so. Past examples of this kind of strong-arming against Islamic Law (Sharia) you can find in Egyptian and Turkish 20th century history.

From Reuters:

ISLAMABAD, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Religious party activists held small protests on Friday in several cities around Pakistan as President Pervez Musharraf signed into law a bill curtailing the scope of Islamic laws on rape.

Islamist opposition lawmakers have threatened to resign from parliament over the issue, but protests held after the National Assembly passed the Women’s Protection Bill earlier this month have failed to generate much public support.

The passage of the bill was seen as a test of Musharraf’s commitment to his vision of “enlightened moderation”, and a major battle in a long struggle between progressives and religious conservatives to set the course for this mainly Muslim nation.

“The bill was sent to the president by the prime minister yesterday, which he signed and returned today,” Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani told Reuters.

Hundreds of supporters of the Islamist parties chanted anti-Musharraf slogans at a demonstration in Rawalpindi, the city next door to Islamabad, and demanded that the government scrap the bill, and there were smaller rallies in other cities after Friday prayers.

The act takes the crime of rape out of the sphere of the religious laws, known as the Hudood Ordinances, and puts it under the penal code.

Under the Hudood Ordinances, which were introduced by a military ruler in 1979, a rape victim had to produce four male witnesses to prove the crime, or face the possibility of prosecution for adultery.

The change does away with that requirement and will allow convictions to be made on the basis of forensic and circumstantial evidence.

An Islamist opposition leader said it would turn conservative Pakistan into a “free sex zone”.

Liberal groups and human rights activities have hailed the amendment, although they want a complete abolition of the Hudood Ordinances.

I guess all the gang rapists won’t be able to cover for each other as often in Pakistan; a woman’s word is worth something in a court of law for a change. It’s a step in the right direction — something quite rare in the Middle East and Musharraf should be praised for these kinds of reforms.