Document #1001374
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
According to the US Department of State's
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992, abuse of
women in the family is usually considered a private matter in
Pakistan, and abused women rarely seek recourse through the justice
system (Feb. 1993, 1171). There are reports that the authorities
are unresponsive and even sometimes involved in incidents of rape
and abuse incidents (Ibid.).According to Women's Movements of
the World, the Hadood (Islamic Punishments) Ordinance does not
make any distinction between rape and adultery (1988, 211). Women
rarely report rape to the authorities, and those who do must back
their case with the testimony of four adult male witnesses (Ibid.).
For further information on recourse for Pakistan women against
abuse and sexual assault, please refer to pages 70-72 of the
attached section of an 1992 Human Rights Watch report entitled
Double Jeopardy: Police Abuse of Women in Pakistan.
In order to obtain divorce, Muslim women in
Pakistan must petition the courts on the grounds of husband's
impotence, insecurity and battery (Women's Movements of the
World 1988, 211). However, a couple must first go through a
process of arbitration and conciliation before their divorce is
granted (Ibid.). Since 1992, a husband is no longer required to
give written notice of a divorce to the local union council
(Country Reports 1992 1992, 1170). As a result, women may be
unable to obtain written proof of their divorce and could be placed
in a vulnerable situation (Ibid.). For instance, a woman getting
remarried after a divorce could face adultery charges if her former
husband denies the divorce (Ibid.). For further information on the
difficulties women encounter in trying to obtain a divorce in
Pakistan, please consult pages 62-66 of the attached sections of
the Human Rights Watch report.
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.
Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices for 1992. 1993. United States Department of State.
Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
Human Rights Watch. 1992. Double
Jeopardy: Police Abuse of Women in Pakistan. New York: HRW.
Women's Movements of the World.
1988. Sally Shreir, ed. Burnt Mill, Essex: Longman Group UK.
Human Rights Watch. 1992. Double
Jeopardy: Police Abuse of Women in Pakistan. New York: HRW, pp.
41-68.
Women's Movements of the World.
1988. Sally Shreir, ed. Burnt Mill, Essex: Longman Group UK, pp.
210-12.