Islamic honor laws kill 15 year old girl in prison .
Mo
innocent human life .
Indian women must be protected from this nonsense by making
sure Muslim percentage increases no further ..
jang.com.pk May 15th
Police high-handedness blamed for 15-year-old's death
By Shafqat Munir
Much embarrassing to the widely appreciated announcement made by the
Chief Executive General Pervaiz Musharraf at the first-ever Convention
on Human Rights and Human Dignity in April, 2000, a victim of human
rights violation, Shaheen Akhtar, died on May 8, 2000 at district
headquarters hospital Rawalpindi while she was in police custody. The
cause of her death is reported to be the deadly disease, tuberculosis,
which she developed in Adiyala jail. She was a healthy person when
brought to the prison in September, 1999.
Shaheen was languishing in jail under Hudood Ordinance reportedly for
her involvement in an adultery case. She and her family earlier
claimed she was kidnapped and raped by servants of former MNA Fazaldad
Wahla in a locality Angoori near Islamabad. Wahla was murdered on
September 24, 1999, almost 20 days after the kidnapping.
Shaheen had been facing rigorous jail term and bitter agonies to the
extent that she was put into fetters for a crime which a woman alone
cannot commit. It is a rather delicate debate why Shaheen was sent to
prison for a rigorous punishment for reportedly having a sexual
relationship with those who are still at large.
There are conflicting reports leading to the death of the ill-fated
victim of an unqualified crime. Shaheen, 15 (a minor), was reportedly
kidnapped by servants of Dr Fazal Dad Wahla from village Bainka Gali
in Angoori area on September 4, 1999. She was reportedly raped by the
kidnappers Muhammad Safeer and others (the servants) in a nearby
forest rest house.
According to a report, police recovered her from the kidnappers and
booked her under Had-e-Zina (Hudood Ordinance) instead of arresting
those who reportedly kidnapped and raped her. A human rights watchdog,
Human Rights Watch in its research report Crime or Custom?-- Violence
against women in Pakistan-- has observed: "The Offence of Zina
Ordinance, which codifies Pakistan's current law on rape and
adultery/fornication, does not provide an adequate legal avenue for
victims of rape to obtain justice and should be repealed."
It further said: "The Zina Ordinance discourages rape victims from
filing charges by presenting the threat of potential prosecution for
adultery. These laws are also seriously flawed because they fail to
criminalise marital rape and to establish the crime of statutory rape
or sex with or without the consent of a minor." The Human Rights Watch
recommended: "Pending repeal of the Zina Ordinance, immediate steps
should be taken to ascribe different section numbers to the crimes of
zina (adultery/fornication) and zina bil jabr (rape).
The lawyers describe Shaheen Akhar's case a gross violation of human
rights declaring her a victim of rape and police high-handedness. A
lawyers' organisation "Takmeel" and some journalists who raised voice
against putting Shaheen into fetters said they approached the Deputy
Commissioner Rawalpindi after fulfilling all legal requirements to get
her free of fetters, but the police violated the Deputy Commissioner's
clear-cut orders he gave in compliance with the Chief Executive's
announcement to ban fettering of prisoners.
The family of the victim blamed that due to political clout, they have
to suffer; their daughter was kidnapped and raped and three brothers
of Shaheen have been booked for murdering Dr Fazal Dad Wahla on
September 24, almost twenty days after Shaheen was kidnapped
reportedly by Wahla's servants. Fazaldad Human Rights Institute, named
after Dr Fazaldad Wahla in a report gives its view of the incident.
It said: "Fazaldad Wahla was killed on the night of September 24 at
his home in Angoori, half an hour north of Islamabad. He was murdered
while attempting to settle a dispute involving a runaway village girl.
The facts have been twisted in the press making sensational fodder out
of a senseless tragedy." The report said: "Unknown to Fazal, a cook in
his house helped a 15 years Angoori girl (Shaheen) to run away from
her home to Abbottabad." Suspecting cook's involvement, the family
asked Fazal to help bring the girl back. He promised to help them
after extracting the truth from the cook. His driver brought the girl
back on September 24, 1999. Wahla reportedly sought a guarantee from
the girl's family that if he returns the girl, she would live and not
become another honour killing statistic. While her family made
menacing noises, Fazaldad swore that the girl would not be killed
while he was alive.
The Institute's report said six of the girl's men came to his
residence in the night, carrying axes, demanded the girl who had
"disgraced" them. Fazal reportedly refused. According to the report of
the Fazaldad Human Rights Institute, the girl's younger brother swung
an axe at him, which severed a major artery and wounded his fatally
and he scummed to his injuries. The murder case of Fazaldad will be
decided by the court. We do not want to comment on this case, but we
would take up the misery Shaheen had undergone first when she was
kidnapped and raped and secondly when she was alone book for adultery
and put into fetters as she was a terrorist or a dangerous criminal
who could run away from the prison.
Shaheen, a minor for being 15 developed tuberculosis in prison and
despite being a TB patient she was put into fetters as she could not
easily move to have a breath after fits of cough. When she was shifted
to a hospital from the prison at the third stage of her TB disease,
she remained in fetters. It was a press photographer and a few
reporters who brought this inhuman treatment to a dying prisoner to
the notice of the public and the administration. But it was too late
as the victim of this inhuman conduct got herself free from the misery
of life by embracing the death a day after her fetters were removed.
Who is to be blamed for the untimely death of a minor in a miserable
condition? Police or the prison authorities or both?
It is on the record that the lawyers and journalists approached pillar
to post in the administration to get Shaheen relieved from the
fetters, but police insisted that they cannot do so unless a court of
law orders so. This is a clear violation of human rights and the
announcement of the Chief Executive's ordering for removal of fetters.
Still there could be hundreds of such more cases who would be in
miserable condition due to fetters.
There is a dire need to send inspection teams comprising lawyers,
journalists and human rights activists to prison to see the state of
prisoners, particularly, the situation whether prisoners were still
put into fetters. Those who are responsible for putting Shaheen into
fetters despite the fact that she was not a strong-built bandit, a
terrorist or a leader who could have run away, rather she was a weak
TB patient and minor girl who was damaged physically and mentally. How
could she be considered fit for putting into fetters?. Those
responsible be punished.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mo
residence in the night, carrying axes, demanded the girl who had
"disgraced" them<
What a pathetic faith which forces brothers to kill a sister
instead of protecting her as Hinduism teaches in the rakshabandan
festivals .
All Hindus should wake up everyday and thank Mother Nature
they were not born in an Islamic household ..
Ungku Shafik Ahmad
> >The Institute's report said six of the girl's men came to his
> residence in the night, carrying axes, demanded the girl who had
> "disgraced" them<
>
> What a pathetic faith which forces brothers to kill a sister
> instead of protecting her as Hinduism teaches in the rakshabandan
> festivals .
> All Hindus should wake up everyday and thank Mother Nature
> they were not born in an Islamic household ..
It is not the religion Islam which is at fault, it is but the human
element. For one shameful human deed dont smear the religion. This blame
should be directed towards the culture of those involved.
Otherwise we too could conjure up bad examples, to blacken other faith.
TheSecretD
is just the perfect religion. Your intentions towards Islam are so general.
Saying simply: "BAD".
Im not Muslim.
but be rational.
Mo <mo2...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:391ff911...@news.clara.net...
> >The Institute's report said six of the girl's men came to his
> residence in the night, carrying axes, demanded the girl who had
