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| Chairman Muhammad Khan Sheerani. |
beat’ his wife if she does not ‘dress as he desires’, refuses to have
sex, or fails to take a bath after her period.
The 20-member council is a constitutional body of the Islamic Republic
of Pakistan, but can only advise the government rather than make laws.Acording to the Express Tribune,it suggests that women can be beaten if
they refuse to have sex without a religious excuse or fail to bathe
after intercourse and periods. Women should also be beaten for not
wearing hijabs, or for speaking so loudly that strangers can hear them,
it recommends.
Its latest proposals come as part of its own women protection
bill, after it rejected Punjab province’s controversial Protection of
Women against Violence Act – branding it un-Islamic.The bill argues that
women should be banned from military combat, welcoming foreign
delegations and working in advertisements, and must have spousal
permission to give monetary support to somebody.
Female nurses should be banned from taking care of male patients and
there should be no-co-education after primary school, it suggests.
The bill advises that a woman must not interact with strangers and that abortion after 120 days should be declared murder.
However, it says that a woman can participate in politics without the
permission of her parents and that anyone who tries to force women to
marry should be jailed for ten years.
Sources in the council told The Express Tribune that three of the
council members rejected some of the proposals in the bill during heated
discussion led by Chairman Muhammad Khan Sheerani.
The only female member of the council, Dr Sameeha Raheel Qazi, was not present on Wednesday when it was being discussed.
