obsession with women and their affairs, it is quite surprising that the body has managed to repeatedly propose recommendations with only one seat reserved for female members. In a welcome development, a PPP senator has finally raised her voice to increase women’s representation in the CII in accordance with their population in Pakistan.
The constitutional body established during Ziaul Haq’s Islamisation drive is often in the news largely because of its alleged anti-woman stance. Some of its controversial edicts passed with reference to women and marriage issues have even set forth calls for its disbandment by not only civil organisations such as the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) but also the Senate Committee on Human Rights. In addition to rejecting the women protection bill passed by the Punjab government earlier this year, the committee also proposed its own set of amendments that included permissible punishments to be imposed on wives “if they do not comply with their responsibilities under Shariah,” and a prohibition on mixing of genders in schools, hospitals, and offices. Previously, CII’s advisors faced strong criticism when they ruled the minimum age for marriage stipulated by the Child Marriages restriction Act of 1929 as “un-Islamic.” In 2013, the council rejected the usefulness of DNA tests as primary evidence in rape cases. Even though its proposed recommendations are not constitutionally binding and can only be accepted after thorough parliamentary discourse, such repressive rulings should not even be allowed to come forth as suggestions, with their characteristic patriarchal barriers aimed at limiting women’s rights in Pakistan’s male-dominated society.
