The consultation committee on Women Protection Bill holds meeting

Lahore: A meeting of the consultation committee on Women Protection Bill, constituted by the Chief Minister Punjab, was held today in order to conceive a unified strategy to end violence against women and to curb any attempt to politicize this issue.

The meeting was chaired by Law Minister Rana Sanaullah and a comprehensive presentation on the features, misconceptions of the bill, decisions taken in last meeting and progress was given by Mr Salman Sufi, Senior Member SMU (Law & Order) Chief Minister’s Office. representatives of law, police department, social welfare department as well as religious scholars attended the meeting from all sects including Hafiz Muhammad Tahir Ashrafi, Sahibzada, Dr Raghib Naeemi, Allama Arif Wahidi, Hafiz Kazim Raza, Zahid Muhammad Qasmi, Maulana Muhammad Khan, Mulana Yousaf Anwar, Hafiz Zabeer, Maulana Muhammad Amjad, Maulana Muhammad Amjad, Pir Mehfooz and Mufti Qavi.

The committee was constituted on the recommendations of the religious scholars on a meeting held on Saturday 12^th March 2016.

The religious scholars recommended that the language of the translation of the bill should be clarified. The Punjab government agreed that a clear translation of the act in Urdu will be drafted and shared with the ulema. Furthermore, Law Minister also clarified that comprehensive rules of the act will be drafted with clauses that clarify their concerns. The Law department and CM’s SMU also further provided clarifications on the two major concerns of the ulema.

Regarding the misconception that the husbands will be required to wear a GPS tracked ankle bracelet whereby all their movements will be monitored, Salman Sufi clarified that it is not applicable in cases of domestic violence, rather it is only applicable in cases of grave violence like attempt to rape/attempt to murder/intimidating victim to withdraw a case/attempt to throw acid etc where the court believes that the life of the victim is at risk. Mr Mohsin further clarified that it will not be in the form of a visible bangle; rather it will be hidden in its ankle.

Furthermore, as technology becomes more advanced, this GPS tracker becomes smaller and smaller and will not be visible to others. Its purpose is to track the movement of the defendant and can therefore not be applied to a husband, as his movements are already known as he lives with the wife in the same house. However, if the couple is divorced and the ex-husband threatens the life of the ex-wife, then the GPS tracker can be used.

Regarding the misconception that the husband will be asked to leave the house for 48 hours and this will cause further rift, Law Minister clarified that the purpose of this act is not to create rift in families but rather to strengthen the relationships.

Mr Salman and Mr Mohsin clarified that 48 hours is only the maximum limit and this time apart is only to serve as a “cool off” period. This period can also be of a couple of hours, depending on the recommendation of the District Women Protection Committee.

Law Minister said that if there are any further concerns of the scholars, they can provide them to the government. Thirdly regarding the misconception that husbands, brothers and others males family members will not be allowed to question female family members, Mr Salman Sufi clarified that the act has no such provision and a father/husband questioning his daughter/wife doesn’t constitute as psychological violence. Regarding misinformation by a woman to misuse the law, Mr Mohsin clarified that it is the responsibility of the court and police to investigate if the information is correct or incorrect or whether or not it warrants an action.

Furthermore, there is a penalty for registration of False FIRs. The ulema suggested that the District Women Protection Committee DWPC should consist of arbitrator from both sides to ensure the representation from both families. Their suggestion was welcomed. Mr Salman added that the DWPC already has the provision of including four non-official members and as per ulema’s suggestions; a family member from each side would be incorporated.

Law Minister ended the meeting by reiterating that there is no clause in the bill that is against Islam and no law would be made in Punjab that is against Islam. However, he encouraged the ulemas to study bill and for the committee to present its findings on any clause that they believe needs improvement.

This committee is empowered to make recommendations which while be considered when making the rules of the act. He further said that the ulemas are requested to talk to other ulemas and educate them about the bill and the viewpoint of the government.