News

On 25th September 2014, Pakistani media reported that the sessions judge, Sibi, Balochistan, on Wednesday sentenced a rapist to be hanged thrice for assaulting a five-year-old girl who later died because of injuries. The verdict carries a Rs 600,000 fine to be paid by the convict. Judge Rashid Mahmood announced the verdict after prosecution proved charges against Sani Messiah. The toddler, subjected to assault on Jan 22, died during treatment at a Quetta hospital.

Comment

Rape and assault against women, girls and even minor children has become a frequent phenomenon in Pakistan, despite the so called "Islamic" laws of Hudood which are professed to be implemented in the country. The women feel constantly threatened and harassed at public places, work areas, factories and markets, as they know that can never get justice in case of breach of their honor, life or property. Although this verdict by a sessions judge is being celebrated by the Pakistani media as a big success of justice but we know that this gruesome rapist will never be hanged under current judicial system, because after the case is decided by the lower court, it goes into a tedious process of appeals after appeals in higher courts, which may last up to tens of years. Until the case is decided by the Supreme Court, the president still has the right to forgive the Rapist under the Pakistani law. So it goes without saying that this verdict means nothing to the victim or to many other victims of rape who remain unheard and whose case is not even registered by police, under pressure from elite and powerful criminals of society. On 25th September 2014, Dawn Newspaper reported that in Multan, an alleged rape victim and her mother on Wednesday tried to immolate themselves as a protest against police failure to arrest the suspect. In 2014, Layyah rape murder incident, on 19 June 2014, a 21-year-old woman was gang raped and murdered in Layyah district, Punjab province of Pakistan. In September 2014, three sons of Mian Farooq, a ruling party parliamentarian from Faisalabad were accused for abducting and gang raping of a teenaged girl. The rapists were later released by the court. Also noteworthy is a fact that since 2008 no person has been executed under capital punishment except one soldier, so the chance of rapists and murderers being hanged are very minimal.

Another issue is the constant dehumanization of women as mere commodities under the western liberal and secular Capitalist system, which uses women to sell the products, exploiting their feminism under the garb of advertisement and Drama industry of Pakistan. In a country where early marriages are continuously being made more difficult under laws implemented by state and rising prices of daily utilities makes it near to impossible for parents to wed their children with ease and where co-education is promoted at all levels and costs, and where justice system is a sham; how can we expect the honor of women and girls to be protected?

Hence, the Democratic Capitalist system has failed to protect women of Pakistan, as it has failed to protect them in India, Bangladesh and the whole world. This requires a complete uprooting of the current system along with its bogus laws and procedural man made defects and its replacement by a system that is flawless as being Divine and bestowed to us by our Creator. A system that provides speedy, free and fair justice to the victims under the fair laws of Shariah, i.e. Quran and Sunnah. A system where Islamic social system guarantees the protection of women by her family and state, a system where the education policy ensures her right to get education under complete protection and where early marriages are encouraged by the state. A system where women are not sold like commodities but enjoy a free, dignified and high status in society, where they are cherished as mothers, daughters, sisters and wives. That system is the Khilafah "Caliphate" system, that remained implemented on the Indian sub-continent for 1000 years under the rule of Muslim Sultans who had given allegiance to the Khilafah "Caliphate" of Abbasids and then Ottomans, hence being a province of Khilafah "Caliphate" state the Muslim as well as non-Muslim women citizens enjoyed protection of all their rights, honor and life alike. That is also engraved in history that Islamic judicial system was free and fair, without discrimination. Therefore the need of time is to re-establish the same system of Khilafah "Caliphate" Rashida, that will once again protect the women all around the world by the laws given by Allah (swt). Allah (swt) says:

((وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاء وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلاَ يَزِيدُ الظَّالِمِينَ إَلاَّ خَسَارًا))

"And We send down of the Qur'an that which is healing and mercy for the believers, but it does not increase the wrongdoers except in loss." [al Israa: 82]

Written for Central Media Office Hizb ut Tahrir by
Umm Musab
Member of Central Media Office Hizb ut Tahrir