RELIGIOUS FERVOUR BLOCKING MOVES AGAINST GENDER DISCRIMINATION
By Raja Asghar

March 31, 2004 – (DAWN) Religious fervour broke through political alliances in the National Assembly on Tuesday to confront moves for more rights for women and protection from customs such as honour killings.

Scenes like opposition clerics cheering a government move to dismiss an honour killing complaint from its own coalition members or PML-N conservatives defending the Hudood laws seemed ominous as regards the fate of a bill moved by the People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) to eliminate gender discrimination.

Tuesday's developments in the lower house made it clear that the PPP's Protection and Empowerment of Women Bill, which seeks more rights for women and repeal of the Hudood ordinances, will meet a stiff - and possibly overwhelming - resistance from both friends and foes.

A further discussion over the admissibility of the bill was put off until the next private members' day after support for the move by two PPP women members was countered by strong opposition by one speaker each from the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal and the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

Parliamentary sources said opposition from the ruling coalition as well as two major opposition parties seemed to seal the fate of the bill to be rendered as a mere publicity exercise for women's rights rather than standing any chance of its passage, which needed a simple majority in the 342-seat house.

The bill moved by PPP MNA Sherry Rehman and eight co-sponsors on March 24 also seeks compulsory primary education for children under 10 years' age, equal participation of women in all walks of life, equal pay for equal work, prohibition of violence against women and honour killings, freedom for every woman to marry a man of her choice and one-third representation for women at the Council of Islamic Ideology and boards of autonomous bodies.

KARO-KARI COMPLAINT: Earlier, on a call-attention notice from five ruling coalition members, the government denied reports that a man and women had been killed on the pretext of Karo-kari at Mirpur Mathelo in Sindh and that a girl had been sold by her father against her wishes.

Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayat assured the house that the government would not allow discrimination against women and promised to have an inquiry held if a case of honour killing was brought to his notice.

But before his assurance, parliamentary secretary for interior Sanaullah Khan Mastikhel said police in Mirpur Mathelo had informed him that no Karo-kari incident had taken place there.

He was cheered by MMA members by desk-thumping when he, amid protests from women members of his own ruling coalition, said such complaints were inspired by foreign-aided non-governmental organizations and that Pakistan would follow its own traditions.

Pointing out that honour killing was punishable as murder under the Pakistan Penal Code's section 302, Mr Mastikhel said people were free to go to courts against any police inaction. "We have to run our country according to our own traditions rather than American or British traditions," he added.

ALLY CONFRONTS SPEAKER: Only a day after his bitter altercation with PPP member Naheed Khan, Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain was confronted by a ruling coalition ally, Pakistan Awami Tehrik chief Mohammad Tahirul Qadri, when Dr Qadri questioned his supposed impartiality in conducting the house.

But the speaker expunged Dr Qadri's remarks made after the chair seemingly saved the government from a virtual censure from a ruling party member, Riaz Fatiana, by suggesting to him to withdraw an adjournment motion seeking a debate on his complaint that a sugar mill in Punjab had paid only half the price of sugarcane to growers.

PML-Q member Wasi Zafar, who later presided over the session in the absence of the speaker, also provoked a PPP protest when he allowed a ruling party motion to be carried by the house to cut short the debate on PPP's bill for women's rights for a resumption of the continuing debate on the president's Jan 17 speech to a joint session of parliament.

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From: http://www.dawn.com/2004/03/31/nat8.htm