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HRCP writes to Musharraf on women

Staff Report

LAHORE: Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Asma Jahangir sent an open letter to President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday severely criticising his government’s policies and alleged inaction on women’s rights.

In response to the president’s speech at the international seminar on violence against women organised by the government on Wednesday, the HRCP head said that women’s rights could not exist in a vacuum, and required a democratic dispensation to be respected properly.

The text of the letter is as follows:

“The council of HRCP would first of all like to appreciate your keen personal interest in the issue of violence against women by organising an international seminar on the issue. However, we regret that you do not appear to have either informed yourself fully on the issue, or risen above the superficial in your approach to a grave problem that extracts terrible suffering.

The figures provided to you regarding rape in France are misleading and questionable. Are the comparatively low figures for Pakistan a source of some consolation? It is possible to argue that the comparatively lower figures of rape in the country reflect only the failure on the part of authorities to maintain accurate and complete data or to provide the just legal systems that would give women the confidence required to report rape.

As for your complaints of the matter being taken to international forums, the lack of accountability of government within the country makes this inevitable. We would like to remind you national interest is not confined to the interest of the ruling power. Also, in today’s age of communications, it is in fact impossible to prevent news being circulated globally. This is not the doing of victims or NGOs, but a blessing of increased media freedoms.

Even if it is assumed, for the sake of argument, that Pakistan is singled out, the matter is easy to understand. Pakistan, unlike governments committed to following the rule of law, has never adopted a positive attitude towards tackling crimes against women. Instead, it has repeatedly been criticised for obstructing justice - as happened in the case of Dr Shazia.

Mr President, you have not done well by yourself by claiming credit for giving women their rights. The fact is that the long struggle for the rights of women began in the region even before partition. Under your regime, these laws remain in place and thousands of women serve long terms in jail after being accused under them. How is the present regime’s record better than its predecessors?

It is obvious that Pakistan will gain nothing by pointing the finger at other nations. Instead, the solutions lie in adopting holistic policies to raise the status of women, scrapping discriminatory laws and guaranteeing women victims of crime the due process of justice.”

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