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Thus, if rape cannot be proven then the victim could easily find herself facing charges of zina under Hudood Ordinance) and may even face death penalty depending on the outcome of the case. Another thing to remember is that it is a male dominated society corrupt to the core. Women, who regularly go out for employment or household errands, have to face unequal and far from respectful treatment from men on the streets. Most rape cases go unreported because of fear of insult and ostracism by the community and society but especially because of the fear that the victims herself can also end up being accused of zina. A woman who has been raped would not easily decide to report the case because of the many constraints. In such cases, the family decides to leave the community mohallah and relocate in some other area where nobody would know of the victim's past. Now, the most disturbing part of this aspect is that if the victim gets pregnant (every possibility) and the word gets out that she is still unmarried: she becomes liable to be arrested and charged under the Hudood Ordinance. A few years ago, I watched a BBC documentary on 'women in Pakistani jails under zina charges. It was an investigative report and some of the interviews were filmed secretly for providing security to the person making serious disclosures. Most women were victims of rape by people who wield influence in society. Other women claimed that they had been framed because of their property that the men in the family wanted to usurp. In many cases, the husband wanted to take a second wife but was not being allowed by the first. The same documentary highlighted the story of a blind girl, Safia Bibi who was raped by her employer. A case was registered against the culprit (July 1993), but she could not identify him. She was convicted for adultery under the Hudood Ordinance. After a strong protest of women organisations, the flogging was reversed. The Hudood Ordinance criminalises zina, which is defined as extra-marital sex including adultery or fornication. It also criminalises Zina-bil-jabr which is defined as rape outside of a valid marriage. The Hudood Ordinance further defines Zina and Zina-bil-jabr on the basis of the assigned criminal punishment. Hence there is Zina and Zina-bil-jabr liable to Hadd (punishment ordained (supposedly) by the Holy Quran or Sunnah; And there is Zina and Zina-bil-jabr liable to tazir that is, any punishment other then Hadd. The Hadd punishment is stoning to death, and the tazir punishment for Zina is up to ten years of imprisonment and whipping - up to 30 lashes and/or a fine. The tazir punishment for Zina-bil-jabr is up to 25 years of imprisonment and whipping up to 30 lashes. In its application, the Hudood Ordinance may be misused and in most cases, the victim risks the possibility of being accused of zina herself. Hudood Ordinance also provides virtual freedom to culprits from prosecution and thus they take rape as an easy crime to commit against women. A ten year old girl, Shahina, who was being tried under Hudood Ordinance was finally acquitted after a trial of four months. Zia Awan, the prominent human rights lawyer who represented Shahina, claims that the police grossly misuses the Hudood Ordinance, making women helpless victims of prolonged legal battles. Another case was that of Farzana who remained in prison for seven months, having been charged falsely under the Hudood Ordinance. In the case of Zafran Bibi represented by Syed Ifthikhar Gillani, the argument submitted was that a number of points in the Ordinance are contrary to Islamic law. He said that the case was decided on the basis of conjecture. The lawyer also pointed out that the extreme punishment of stoning-to-death could not be awarded to her when her husband had declared the pregnancy legitimate as he had met her during his imprisonment. Syed Iftikhar Gillani referred to the Islamic law in this connection and made a point that based on circumstances in this case, Zafran Bibi cannot be accused of zina and Hadd would not apply in this case. Most of the active human rights groups have called Hudood Ordinance as having an inherent gender bias. A newspaper editorial described the law as "A legacy of General Zia's rule, the Hudood Ordinances are bad in law and lack the wisdom one expects in a law concerning sexual offences. The latest conviction of a married woman, Zafran Bibi of Kohat, is yet another example of the obvious miscarriage of justice built into the laws imposed on the nation without consensus among the intelligentsia or the ulema. The present situation with the Hudood Ordinance and the case of Zafran Bibi, now stand acquitted of all charges, is more than enough to repeal this law. The lower court sentenced the woman to death by stoning in a Zina case under a law that gave credence to the counter-allegation of adultery brought against her by her father-in-law, as opposed to her own complaint that her brother-in-law had raped and impregnated her. In this case and many other similar cases DNA tests could have revealed the truth of the woman's claim but neither the investigating authority nor the judge deem them necessary. Under the Hudood Ordinances - the male counterparts are usually acquitted for a lack of evidence not conforming against female allegations against male. Zafran Bibi is one such victim of alleged rape, and of the law under which she has been tried". It is high time that the law makers (legislative body) and the courts make sure that this law is scrapped before it takes another innocent life, and before a widespread condemnation by international community is directed against the Hudood Ordinance and the system of law enforcement in Pakistan. This discriminatory law that allows rape of a woman by providing protection to the rapist, and allowing a victim to be turned into accused must be abolished, today. People from all walks of life and the civil society from every part of the world have flayed this shameful incident. They have demanded the Pakistan government to bring the culprits to book without any delay and to award exemplary punishment. According to news reports, 18-year-old Mukhtar Bibi was mercilessly gang raped by four men including the jurist on the order of a village jury in Meerwala. The gang rape was a punishment meted out by a tribal jury for the alleged (love) affair of the girl's brother with a woman of a tribe of higher social standing. Mukhtar Bibi told the press that four people including the jurist gang-raped her brutally on the orders of a village jury or Panchayhat because her 11-years-old brother Abdul Shakoor, was alleged to be having a love affair with a 30-years-old woman of a higher ranking tribe namely Mastoi. Mukhtar Bibi herself belongs to the Tattla tribe, which is low-caste. Some quarters claim that the alleged lovers were found in an objectionable condition. While, contradictory reports say that the relationship was mutual, not forced. Following the discovery of the affair, the family of the girl from the Mastoi tribe, called a Jirga that decided that the insult to the Mastoi clan could only be mitigated by putting a Tattla tribe girl to gang rape. The boy's father was told to bring his 18-year-old daughter to be gang-raped failing which he was threatened with the rape of all the women in the family. The ill-fated father was forced to present his innocent daughter, who was dragged by four ruthless men to a nearby farmhouse and raped turn by turn. She was then made to walk back home naked in front of hundreds of onlookers. Some claim that the refusal of a marriage proposal for Mukhtar Bibi infuriated the perpetrators of the gang rape. Another report has cited a dispute between two rival political groups as the undercurrent. The names of city politicians like Adbullah Shah, Adbul Basit, Nasrullah Jatoi, Manzoor Jatoi are being taken in this connection by some quarters that claim that it is, in effect, a game being played by these politicians. Another report says that Shakoor, Muktar Bibi's brother, had been kidnapped by some people of the Mastoi tribe in order to sodomise him. A police team led by Assistant Sub-Inspector ...
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