Women’s Rights: Religious and Cultural Intolerance in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan Dr Niaz A Shah Lecturer in Law

Overview  Violations of women’s rights  Is it religion or culture?  Misconceptions at domestic and international levels

Violations of women’s rights  Honour killing  Forced marriages  Lack of property rights

Violations of women’s rights  Limited access to education, employment etc:  Probably very limited in the tribal zone  Harmful traditions, e.g. male child preference over female

Honour killing  Traditionally it is called ‘Karo Kari’. Karo means ‘a black man’ and Kari ‘a black woman’

Honour killing  In common parlance ‘a black man’ and ‘a black woman’ are those who are guilty or suspected of illicit sexual relationship thereby defiling man’s/family honour

Honour killing  Man/family is responsible for restoring/revenging family honour  It is not only women who are killed. Men get killed too.

Naseerabad, Baluchistan Case 2008

Senator Israrullah Zahri of Baluchistan 2008

Is it religion or culture?  Islamic law prohibits honour killing:  Islamic law prohibits sexual relations outside marriage;  Punishment only after a fair trial, not by family members  Killing for honour is a cultural norm

Pakistani Christian couple 2008: Saira and Ismail of Sindh

Misperceptions  Practices such as honour killing have created misperceptions at domestic and international levels regarding Islam and Islamic law

Main causes  Ignorance of religion  Lack of education  Poverty/lack of economic development

Solution/s  Islamic education can prevent the violation of women’s rights in many areas  Economic development can play an important role