Dokument #1041159
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
Most Pakistani women brought to the police
station are arrested under the so-called Hudood Ordinances, which
punish religious crimes and allow arrest without warrant on
"reasonable suspicion," "credible information" or "reasonable
complaint" (Asia Watch and the WRP 1992, 71). In principle, special
rules apply to the arrest of women: they may not be arrested by a
police officer below the rank of sub-inspector (except while her
male relatives are present), they must be searched only by
policewomen, and they must never be kept overnight except in
"unavoidable circumstances" (ibid., 72). In addition, all arrests
of female suspects must be reported to the Superintendent of police
without delay (ibid.).
However, the same source states that women
suspects are "almost never interrogated or guarded by female police
officers," and are frequently kept overnight (ibid., 75-76).
Although women theoretically have recourse to the courts to
denounce prolonged stay and ill-treatment in police stations, they
are often threatened by police officers who postdate their first
information reports (the first report filed upon arrival at a
police station) to meet the 24-hour stay-in-custody regulation
(ibid., 76).
Judicial recourse permit women to lodge
complaints against abusive police officers, but to do so they must
report to the police, who may simply refuse to file the complaint
or may take administrative measures, such as dismissal (ibid., 73,
96). As the attached report on police abuse of women in Pakistan
puts it, "the police police themselves" (ibid., 96). For recourse
to courts, complaints initially filed with the police, seem to be
influenced by police pressure, since police are "the detaining,
investigating and prosecuting authorities" (ibid., 114).
Women deciding to take recourse in cases of
rape run the risk of being suspected of having consented to the
act, thus turning a rape into adultery or fornication, which is
punishable by death or imprisonment (The New York Times 7
Oct. 1992).
In response to reports of rape and torture
in police custody, the arrest and interrogation of women by male
police officers was banned in 1991 (AFP 21 Sept. 1991). However, as
of December 1993, an amendment making the ban official had not yet
been voted in the National Assembly (Amnesty International Dec.
1993, 13).
During the campaign leading to the October
1993 elections, women advocating higher female voter participation
(very low in Pakistan), were doubtful that any new government would
be more sympathetic to women's issues (IPS 11 Aug. 1993). Some
women activists even described Benazir Bhutto as an "insidious
enemy" (Asiaweek 11 Aug. 1993). Nevertheless, all political
parties made promises during the election campaign to improve
women's rights (ibid.). Putting these intentions into action may be
hampered, however, by the lack of a clear majority within the
National Assembly (La Presse 13 Oct. 1993). In early 1994
Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto inaugurated a new police station in
Rawalpindi which employs only female police officers (Le
Devoir 26 Jan. 1994), while the Human Rights Commission of
Pakistan reported that "police excesses against women in custody
remained a common routine" (Reuters 19 Jan. 1994).
This response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
Agence France Presse. 21 September 1991.
Masood Shah. "Male Police Banned from Arresting Pakistani Women."
(NEXIS)
Amnesty International. December 1993.
Pakistan: Torture, Deaths in Custody and Extrajudicial
Executions. London: Amnesty International.
Asia Watch and the Women's Rights
Project (WRP). 1992. Double Jeopardy: Police Abuse of Women in
Pakistan. New York and Washington: Asia Watch and the WRP.
Asiaweek [Hong Kong]. 11 August
1993. "Equality: Zia's Unwanted Legacy."
Le Devoir [Montréal]. 26
January 1994. "Un poste de police féminin."
Inter Press Service (IPS). 11 August
1993. Hider Rizvi. "Pakistan: Elections Are for Men, Most Women
Stay at Home." (NEXIS)
The New York Times. 7 October
1992. Final Edition. "No Letup in Abuse of Pakistani Women."
(NEXIS)
La Presse [Montréal]. 13
October 1993. Jooneed Khan. "Au Pakistan, la poésie se met
au service des femmes et des libertés." (NEXIS)
Reuters. 19 January 1994. "Pakistan
Human Rights Abuses Continue, Says Report." (NEXIS)
Agence France Presse. 21 September 1991.
Masood Shah. "Male Police Banned from Arresting Pakistani Women."
(NEXIS)
Amnesty International. December 1993.
Pakistan: Torture, Deaths in Custody and Extrajudicial
Executions. London: Amnesty International.
Asiaweek [Hong Kong]. 11 August
1993. "Zia's Unwanted Legacy."
Le Devoir [Montréal]. 26
January 1994. "Un poste de police féminin."
Inter Press Service (IPS). 11 August
1993. Hider Rizvi. "Pakistan: Elections are for Men, Most Women
Stay at Home." (NEXIS)
The New York Times. 7 October
1992. "No Letup in Abuse of Pakistani Women." (NEXIS)
La Presse [Montréal]. 13
October 1993. Jooneed Khan. "Au Pakistan, la poésie se met
au service des femmes et des libertés." (NEXIS)
Reuters. 19 January 1994. "Pakistan
Human Rights Abuses Continue, Says Report." (NEXIS)