A new bill being prepared by the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has several proposals, including at least one where husbands will be allowed to strike (beat) their wives in order to ‘discipline’ them.
According to sources, the final draft of the bill is being will be sent to all provincial assemblies and the National Assembly for the legislative process, after final recommendations from the council’s chairman. The bill consists of 163 clauses in total.
The draft of the bill also does not grant women permission to appear in ‘indecent advertisements’ that can cause social harm. However, the clauses do provide space for women to adopt professions and partake in politics. For example, women can become judges, take active part in politics and write their own wills. Female nurses will not be allowed to tend to male patients.
As per the draft of the bill, women will not be allowed to host foreign guests and dignitaries. Women will not be allowed to mix freely with non-mahrams and a ban has been proposed on learning music, dance and sculpture in the name of arts.
The bill also proposes that women be held liable to breastfeed their child at least till the age of two years old and also place a ban on advertisements that promote substitute milk. Girls have been granted permission to marry of their own free will without the consent of their guardian. Honour killing, Karo Kari, Siyah Kari will be declared as murders according to the bill’s proposals.
Demanding dowry or showing it off as well as girls’ forced marriages for Wani or patch up will be punishable under the proposed bill. A 10-year imprisonment sentence has also been suggested for marrying off women to the Holy Quran.
For those who forcibly convert women, a three-year imprisonment sentence has been suggested. It has been stated that each and every female shall be granted freedom to choose Islam as her religion. Women will not be slaughtered during war times and proper investigations would be carried out if a girl is murdered in acid-throwing incidences or other related incidents.
Another proposal in the bill states that an abortion after 120 days of conception will be considered as a murder and a vasectomy or sterilization process cannot be adopted by the male without his wife’s consent. In case of a miscarriage due to any external injury, 20% of blood money shall be paid for it.
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