Outrage at Kala Dhaka Jirga's Rajm “Judgement”

8 July 2010 – Khawateen Mahaz-e-Amal (Women’s Action Forum – National) is outraged at reports of yet another “judgement” (sic) of Rajm (stoning to death) for “illicit relations” (sic), pronounced by a self-styled Jirga in Kala Dhaka, on an accusation that a man and a woman were seen walking together in a field in Madakhail.

WAF strongly condemns the Jirga and its verdict; as also the fact that while the accused man, Zarkat, escaped on hearing the Jirga’s “verdict” of Rajm, the accused woman was “captured” by the Jirga members and reportedly is being held at a secret place in Manjakot, pending the Rajm punishment.  As usual, it is the woman who is made to bear the brunt of such atrocious barbarism, injustice, and inhuman, unIslamic “sentences”.

The ASEAN Progressive Muslim Movement (APMM) is a civil society’s group that was formed as an outcome of a regional meeting of Southeast Asian human rights advocated held in Jakarta on 16-17 October 2009. The meeting was organized by conducted to examine how certain interpretations of Sharia laws are affecting the rights of the women in Muslim contexts in the region and undermining democratic institutions and processes in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, the Mindanao region in the Philippines and Thailand. APMM has members or 30 person from 21 organization in ASEAN countries including some organization that are based in Jakarta such as Aceh Human’s Rights NGO Coalition, PEKKA, Solidaritas Perempuan, and SCN-CREST.

We, the APMM, have noted from various media reports that on February 25th 2010, the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) has lodged a police report against Sisters in Islam (SIS) because of SIS’ press statement on the caning of three Muslim women that was announced to have taken place on February 9th 2010. This report by MAIS is one of six lodged against SIS and also against P. Gunasegaram, Managing Editor of the Malaysian newspaper, The Star for his article ‘Persuasion not Compulsion’ on February 19th 2010.

For more than a year, Pakistan's Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill has languished in legislative limbo, awaiting political resuscitation. The National Assembly passed the bill on August 4, 2009, but the Senate failed to do so within three months mandated by the Constitution, opting to let the bill . 

Mere consideration of a domestic violence bill constitutes a major development in Pakistan, where gender-based violence is rampant. Approximately  of married women in rural areas fear domestic abuse while 50 percent of women in urban areas report having been subjected to spousal abuse. The  reports that gender-based violence increased by 13 percent from 2008 to 2009. 

Men routinely attempt to disfigure or kill women who refuse to be forced into a sexual relationship or marriage, particularly in rural areas. In 2008,  who refused forced marriages were shot, then buried alive in Baluchistan -- and the province's representative defended the perpetrators' "right" to do so. There has been an increase in abductions, forced marriages, and forcible conversion by extremists in rural areas. 

Jantho, Aceh. With heads bowed, two young women walked toward a wooden stage outside Al Munawwarah Mosque in Jantho, Aceh Besar. Friday prayers had just ended, and hundreds of residents surrounded the platform, keeping a respectful distance but keen to watch. 

The eyes of Murni binti Amris, 27, and Rukiah binti Abdullah, 22, began to water. 

They feared the worst when officers of the Shariah Police dragged them to the center of the stage. 

The women had dared to sell cooked rice in the daytime during Ramadan, violating the 2002 Islamic bylaw in Aceh. 

With a quivering voice, Murni said: “Wait, sir.” She wanted to correct her sitting position. 

However, the man standing over her brandishing a rattan cane took no heed, lashing her three times across the back.