Legal recourse available to women, both in theory and in practice, to defend their rights at the police station level and within the judiciary, especially since Bhutto's victory in October 1993 [PAK16644.E]

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.

References


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)

Attachments

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)