Pakistan's Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) softens recommendations to legislators on wife beating
THE EXPRESS TRIBUNE, PAKISTAN
May 27, 2016
‘Gentle beating’ of wife is no violence, says CII chief
By Sardar Sikander and Aroosa Shaukat
ISLAMABAD
/ LAHORE: After the top constitutional body on Islamic laws recommended
‘a light beating’ for women’ sparking outrage, the body’s chairman
softened his tone stating ‘violence’ is not permissible in the religion.
“Do
not try to relate our proposal (on beating women) with violence. Light
beating does not mean violence,” explained Council of Islamic Ideology
(CII) Chairman Mualana Muhammad Khan Sherani after a press briefing in
Islamabad on Thursday.
“The
issue has been blown totally out of proportions. Everyone condemns
violence. People need to be educated to stay away from violence.”
He
added that both men and women should refrain from inflicting physical
violence on one another. But the CII chief did not back down on the
council’s recommendations that ‘light beating’ of wives was permissible.
“If
you want her (a wife) to mend her ways, you should first advise her,”
Maulana Sherani explained to The Express Tribune after his press
conference. “If she refuses, stop talking to her. Still if she does not
show compliance, stop sharing a bed with her, and if things do not
change, get a bit strict.”
Maulana
Sherani went on to detail what he meant by ‘beating’. “Hit her with
light things like handkerchief, a hat or a turban, but do not hit her on
the face or private parts. And the beating should not cause any kind of
physical damage or even scratches. Resort to light stuff, nothing
serious.”
Earlier
during the press briefing, Maulana Sherani avoided a direct response to
queries regarding CII’s proposal on slight physical punishment of women
“The
reality is, there are some individual and some collective
responsibilities on a man,” he said. “Tell me, why do the governments
follow the policy of reward and punishment? It is for the collective
good of all. Similarly, husbands have some rights that are for the
collective benefit of society…..but fathers or husbands do not have
permission to cause physical damage to their daughters or wives…. They
should avoid inflicting any kind of physical injuries.”
To
a query whether he deemed it permissible for women to beat men, Sherani
made light of it. “If women start beating their men in the head, the
men would get bald,” he joked before going on to say “Both men and women
should refrain from violence.”
The
CII chairman also commented on the inclusion of women in the armed
forces noting that they cannot be “dragged into defence-related
matters.” However, he said women can join the defence services and
security departments out of their free will following mutual
consultation with husbands or fathers. He also implied an endorsement of
professional training of women in defence or security services by male
trainers. “Exploitation should not be there.”
Punjab differs on CII proposal
Female members of the Punjab Assembly on Thursday dismissed the CII set of proposals noting that it differs widely from the Punjab law.
“Through
their proposed recommendations they have reflected their mindset,” said
Raheela Khadim, chair of the Punjab Assembly’s standing committee on
gender. She also called for reviewing the legal space in which CII
exercised. “We are talking about holding wife beaters accountable and
they are proposing something in complete contrast” she added.
No comments:
Post a Comment