Femicide In Pakistan: Noor Mukadam’s Murder Mirrors Pathetic State Of Women In Pakistan
Absence
Of A National Law Against Domestic Violence Is At The Root Of Death Of Thousands
Of Women And Girls
Main
Points:
1. Sind,
Punjab and Balochistan have laws criminalizing domestic violence.
2. In
July Pakistan’s National Assembly passed a bill against domestic violence but
stalled by PM’s advisor Babar Awan
3. 3.
Babar Awan cited injunctions from Shariah for a review of the bill.
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New
Age Islam Staff Writer
11 August
2021
Image Source : FACEBOOK
Noor Mukadam, 27, daughter of former
Pakistani diplomat Shaukat Mukadam, was found dead in the capital's upscale
Sector F-7/4 area on Tuesday.
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Noor
Mukadam, 27 was tortured and killed by an acquaintance named Zaheer Jaffer on July 20, 2021. Her murder is
another grim reminder of the fact that women in Pakistan are vulnerable no
matter what their social status is. Although her killer has been arrested, the
lackadaisical attitude of the leaders and the laws that tilt in favour of the
men in Pakistan are a big obstacle in her getting justice.
Noor
Mukadam belonged to the upper echelons of the society. Her father Shaukat
Mukadam is a Pakistani diplomat and former ambassador to South Korea and
Ireland. She was a vivacious and fun loving girl and wanted to do something for
the society. She had gone to Lahore with her friend Zaheer Jaffer on July 19
but on July 20 she was found murdered by Zaheer Jaffer. Her murder has stirred
the collective conscience of the Pakistanis, particularly women who have been
running a JusticeforNoor and GoFundMe campaign on twitter to raise money for
the legal battle that touched $50000.
Zahir Jaffer, the
alleged killer of former diplomat’s daughter Noor Mukadam, is brought to a
court in Islamabad. — DawnNewsTV
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The Human
Rights activists say that domestic violence is seen as social norm in Pakistan
and there is no specific strict national law on domestic violence. According to a report released by Pakistan’s
Ministry of Human Rights, 28% women aged between 15 and 49 have experienced
domestic violence between 2017-2018. The legal system does not provide
protection to them. Only some provinces have laws criminalizing domestic
violence but that too are not sufficient. Sind, Balochistan and Punjab have
outlawed domestic violence but they fail
to deter offenders.
This year
Pakistan’s National Assembly passed a bill against deomestic violence called
Pakistan Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill in June and was
sent to the President for final approval. But in July, the advisor to the Prime
Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan
sought a review of the bill by the Islamic Council. He mentioned the
Islamic Shariah that gives power to men to discipline women.
People carry signs against the killing
of Noor Mukadam, 27, daughter of former Pakistani diplomat, and to condemn the
violence against women and girls during a protest in Karachi, Pakistan July 25,
2021. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
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The
insensitivity of Pakistan’s male dominated political leadership became evident
from the fact that the Prime Minister Imran Khan issued a statement condemning
the murder after 12 days. He assured the country that the culprit will be
punished.
Feminists
and human rights activists feel that if the country does not enact harsher laws
to curb domestic violence against women, more Noors will be tortured and
killed.
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/femicide-pakistan-mukadam-women/d/125205