Figure 1.--. |
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Pakistan has a poor human rights record. The situation appears to be worsening, in large measure because of the increasingly violent acts of terrorism committed by Islamic fundamentalists and economic failure. The country was born out of the British Raj. While India took a more inclusive, secular route. Pakistan was created a Muslim state. Pakistan's record is not as bad as many Middle Eastern countries, perhaps in part because of the democratic institutions inherited from the British Raj. There is considerable evidence of abuse experienced by women, children, and minorities. Here the problems lie with 1) military rule, 2) Islamic fundamentalism sponsoring terrorism, and 3) a conservative, traditional culture. The situation is compounded by an increasingly ill functioning legal system, official corruption, a dysfunctional economy resulting in rising poverty. Living standards have fallen since independence in contrast to the bright hopes at the time. Deeply held social customs are incompatible with fundamental human rights. They are often bustressed by the powerful force of Islamic theology. This has been a major factor in Palistan's economic failure. Ironically fundamentalists demanding a greater role for Islam are building a poweful constinuency and have convinced youths to commit unspeakable acts of terroism. Some Pakistanis continue to blame the British, but that criticism is now getting old, especially because in some areas, Pakistanis were better off under British rile. And the economic success in India after free market reforms highlights the fact that Pakistan's failures are the result of the domestic culture and policy choices.
Pakistan is a modern creation, one of the two succesor states to follow the British Raj (1947). Pakistn was formed as a Muslim state. The history of the Indus Valley and Islam on the sub-continent goes much further back. The Indus Valley is one of the great centers of civilization (2500–1700 BC). The Indus Valley was isolated by the Himalyas, but there were sea contacts with great Middle Eastern civilizations. Alexander's army entered the Indus Valley and it was here the Army forced Alexander to stop his conquests. A Helenistic influebnce was added to the areas cultural heritage. A series of foreign invaders-—Aryans, Persians, Greeks, Mogols, Arabs, Turks, and others—controlled the region for over a millenia. Islam was introduced (711) and competed with the majority Hindu religion. A Mongol people estanlished the Mogul Empire and many became Muslims, especially in thr north eastand west (modern Pakistan and Bangledash. The Mogols ruled most of the subcontinent (16th-17th century). With the arrival of he French and British, Mogol power was already declining. The British became the dominant power and after the failed Sepoy Revolt seized control of the administration of the sub-continent (1857). This period became known as the British Raj. The British built a modern infrastructure and an educational system which provided the leaders of the independence movement. Gradually an independence movenment dominated by the Congress Party developed. Congress included all elements of Indian society, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and others. Muslim elements in Congress were concerned about their minority status. This had several roots. Muslims had ruled India for centuries and were concerned about life in a majority Hindu state. Islam is a religion that evolved in socities where Muslims controlled political power. In addition. conversion to Islam had been most successful among lower-class Indians who faced descrimination in an India governed by caste-conscious Hindus. This dymamic led to the formation of the nationalist Muslim League by Mohammed Ali Jinnah (1906). The independence movement let by Ghandi put increased pressure on British authorities. The rising influence of the Labour Party in Britain pushed self rule and eventual independence. The Muslim League supported Britain in World War II. Conress under Nehru and Gandhi while refusing to rise against the British, refused to support the British war effort. After World War II, Britin decided to grant India independence. Congress wanted a united Indi--all of the former Raj. Jinnah and the Muslim League demanded a separate state. Eventually to avoid comunal rioting Cngress acquiesed in partition along religious lines (August 1947). Jinnah was appointed governor-general. The partition of Pakistan and India along religious lines resulted in the greatest mass-migration in human history, involving 17 million people and unfortunally the communal violence Congress had hoped to avoid. And a series of wars between India and Pakistn over Khasmir followed (1949, 1965, 1971, and 1999). Pakistan declared a republic with Maj. Gen. Iskander Mirza as the first president. This began an era of military rule, in part because of the on-going military confrointation with India. Military rule prevailed for the next two decades. Tensions between East and West Pakistan existed from the creation of Pakistan ad finally outset and finally Begali nationalists declared independence (1971). Limited representative government was restored (1988). Bhutto's daughter and long-time Zia opponent, Benazir Bhutto, became Pakistans prime minister, a novely in a Muslim state. Political instability followed, in pat because of the rising influence of Islamic fundamnentalists. Gen. Pervez Musharraf seized control and formed another military government (1999). Pakistan today is increasingly seen as a failed state with rising levels of violence and abject poverty. The poverty and failed economy of Pakistan stands in sharp contrast to the rapidly expanding economy of modern India which has embraced democracy, plurlism, free market, and the rle of law. Islamic fundamentalists in defiance of the obvious evidence claim that Pakistan's failure is the result of insufficent devotion to Islam and this appears to resonate with many young Pakistanis.
Pakistan's human right's record is not as bad as many Middle Eastern countries, perhaps in part because of the democratic institutions inherited from the British Raj.
Here the problems lie with a mixture of military rule, Islamic fundamentalism sponsoring terrorism, and a conservative, traditional culture. The situation is compounded by an increasingly ill functioning legal system, official corruption, a dysfunctional economy resulting in rising poverty. Living standards have fallen since independence in contrast to the bright hopes at the time. Deeply held social customs are incompatible with fundamental human rights. They are often bustressed by the powerful force of Islamic theology. This has been a major factor in Palistan's economic failure. Ironically fundamentalists demanding a greater role for Islam are building a poweful constinuency and have convinced youths to commit unspeakable acts of terroism. Both the Government and wealthy employers continued to restrict worker rights. As in many Muslim countries, slavery is a continuing problem. Debt slavery persists in Pakistan. There are reports of bonded labor involving both aults and children. Child labor is widespread. Trafficking in women and children for both prostitution as well as bonded labor persists.
There is considerable evidence of the abuse of women in Pakistn. Here the principal problem is domestic violence against women. This in part relates to Islamic attitudes toward women ensrined in the Koran and Islamic tradition. Beatings and rape and the abuse of children are serious problems in Pakistan. It is virtually impossible for a Pakistani woman to prove that she has been raped. This is because Islamic law requires four male witnesses. Of course rape is not a kind of crime normally committed in the presence of witnesses.
A Pakistani reader wrote us to point out that unlike America, rape almost never occurred in Pakistan. In a legal sence, this is true because ratherly are there four male witnesses, but of course in the phyical sence this is far from the case.
Another problem women face is honor killing.
The Government has criticized the practice of "honor killings", but has taken no significant steps to address the problem, in part because it would involve confronting Islamic fundamentalists. Discrimination against women is widespread involving areas besides physical violence. Pakistan's conservative traditional society keep women in a subservient position. This is in part inbeded in Islamic law affecting the treatment of women in the judicial system as regards divorce, custody of children, amd inheritance.
A new problem has developed in Pakestan in recent years. As more women become literate and and are exposed to the mass media through the internet and satellite television, they have become more asertive in demanding their rights. This means daughters refusing to marry the man selected by their parents, wives who attempt to divorse abusive men, and young men desiring to have more control over their lives. Family and husbands have adopted new tactics to deal with these women--they accuse them of adultry or other sexual acts. This is a very serious matter because under Islamic-influenced Pakistani law, these are criminal matters carrying heavy penalties. Often the women accused are jailed for long periods pending trials. And even if aquitted their lives can be ruined by just the charhes bding brought. In many cases the charges are brought without any real prospect of a conviction, but orimarily to ruin the woman's reputation--essentially destroying her life. The Aurat Foundation has been especially vocal in addressing this issue. Muslim clerics and conservative politicans have strongly defended Pakistani law criinalizing illicit sexual relations. Maulana Rahat Hussain, a senator in the Pakistani Parliament is a good example of the Islamic influebce. He belongs to the religious party Jamiat e Ulema e Islam. His point is that the laws criminalizing extramarital sex defend God's will. "Islam has its special laws about adultry and extramaritalex, and nobody has the authority to bring any sort of change in those laws." [Jordan, pp. 1, 12.]
Islamic fundamentalists have carried out attacks on minority relgions in Pakistan, including other Muslims. Here there are both Government proxecutiobs as well as Fundamentalist terror attacks. There are numerous press reports of attacks on minority religious groups. These have included atacks on minority Muslim groyps as well as other religios (Chistians and Hindus). One of the targets have been the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. Four gunmen on motorbikes killed eight Ahmadis while at worship in the village of Moong, near Mandi Bahauddin (October 2005). They pulled up to the place of worship at dawn, fired indiscriminately on mall children alike and then escaped. Other similar attacks have been reported. [HRCP, "Persecution"] About 1.5 percent of the Pakistani population is Christian. There have also been attacks on Shi'a Muslims.
The Government has used the country's blasphemy law to persecute non-Muslim religions. The blasphemy law authorizes the Government to punish "blasphemies" of the Koran. The law is written so broadly that it can be used to persecute other relgions. Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was able to moderate the law (1994), but Nawaz Sharif pandering to Islamic fundamentalists reinstated the old law. A good example of how the law is used is the case of
Ayub Masih, a Christian. A neighnor accused him of stating that he supported British writer, Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses. There was no colaboration of the neigbor's testimony. The court convicted Masih of blasphemy and sentenced him to death (1998). Appeals courts upheld the conviction. The Pakistan Supreme Court, however, reversed the verdict. Masih presented evidence that his accuser used the conviction to force Mashi's family off their land and then acquired the property. besides such legal descrimination there are constant press reports of attacks on Christians, many in chures during worship ceremonies. Other attacks have been on schools and homes. These incidents have beeen conducted by gunmen, bombers, and mobs incited by Islamic clerics.
There have been attacks on Hindus. Many Hindus left Pakistan after partition (1947). There have been continuing reports of the persecution of Hindus who remained in Pakistan. The increasing Islamization of Pakistan has increased pressure on the country's remaining Hindus. Some have attempted to escape the persecution by converting to other religions (Buddhism and Christianity). The blasphemy laws have also been used against Hindus. There are press reports of Hindu women being kidnapping and forced to convert to Islam. As aesult of the persecutions, Hindus who were 23 percent of the population in 1947 or now less than 2 percent of the population. This is in sharp contrast to India which todays has the largest Muslim population of any country.
Reports suggest that large numbers of Hindus are being held as "bonded laborers" in slavery-like conditions in rural Pakistan. The Pakistani Government has made little effort to deal with this problem.
According to HRCP Secretary-General Syed Iqbal Haider, "The measures that could bring some improvement in the situation, by penalizing those delivering inflammatory speeches under law, by ensuring local administrations do not ignore complaints of sectarian harassment, by taking steps to eradicate hatred from school text-books and by rehabilitating misguided young militants in the past trained with State support, have yet to be taken. And until they are implemented, more atrocities against innocent citizens will be committed by militants, adding to the strains already pulling society apart and contributing to the dangerous friction growing within it." [HRCP, "Persecution"]
Terrorist attacks have mostly been carried out by gunmen and bombers. There also have been suiside attacks. Peshawar police reported the first incident of a female suiside bomber (October 1, 2007). A women exploded a charge hidden by the burqa she was wearing at a croded cjeck pont. At least 14 people were killed. ["Pakistan" WP] We are not sure who she was and who she was targeting.
Pakistan's security forces have been accused of too readily resorting to lethal force. This is a difficult charge to assess. In some instances, Islmic fundamentalists resort to armed force, leaving the security forces no alternative. Than after people are killed, the Islmacists complain about the Governments use of force. The best example of this is the incident at the Red Mosque (July 2007). There are also charges of extrajudicial killings of civilians and suspected militants. There are acusations of the police and military being responsible for physical abuse, rape, and arbitrary arrest and detention. Some reports suggest that the government has taken steps to address these charges , but it is unclear how successdfully.
Pakistan's secular courts are underfunded, in large measure a result of the country's economic failure. The state simply does not have the money to properly fund the courts. There are also problems associated with outside intervention (primarily from fundamentalist Islamacits) and a deep and growing case backlog. This leads to extended trial delays, commonly with long periods of pretrial detentions tatamount to a an actual prison sentence. The focus of the judicial system is on crime, national security, and domestic tranquility. The protection of individual rights commonly is a minor consideration with authorities. Secular law is under assault from Islamic fundamentalists. The world watched a dramatic incident in this struggle at the Jamia Hafsna and Jamia Faridia seminaries affiliated to the Lal Masjid mosque, commonly known as the Red Mosque (July 2007). Mosque officials urgedctheir students students to impose their version of Shari'a law in Islamabad. Lal Masjid administration under the leadership of cleric Abdul Aziz and his brother Abdul Rashid Ghazi threatened to launch a wave of suicide attacks if the Pakistan government attempted to resist a Shari'a court set up in the Las Masjid to enforce Shari'a law in the neighborhood around the Mosque. The Shari'a court was taking actions in violation of Pakistani law. Aziz threatened, "Our youth will commit suicide attacks if the government impedes the enforcement of Shari'a and attacks the Lal Masjid and its sister seminaries," [AI-ASA 33/015/2007] Azis incouraged his students to take up arms against the Pakistani government, but when the Army took action put on a burqa and deserted his students.
Education is certainly a basic human right. Pakistan has failed in its responsibility to offer education to its children. The various constituent elements of the British Raj began as independent states with very similar educational establishments and levels of literacy. Two former British colonies have made considerable progress in dealing with illiteracy. India (61 percent) and Sri Lanka (91 percent) have achieved consideral progress, especiall Sri Lanka [UNDP]. lPakistan has, however, literacy rates of slightly less than 50 percent. This is an apauling failure and comparisons with other areas of the developing world such as Southeast Asia or South America are also adverse. Literacy rates in Pakistan are similar to Sub-Saharan Africa. It is unclear why Pakistan has dome so poorly. As it is female literacy rates that are particuilarly poor, it would seem that Islam is an important factor. Notably Bangladesh (48 percent), another Muslim nation, also has high rates of illiteracy--also principally because of female iliteracy. There are of course Muslim countries with higher rates of literacy, so it is not just Islam that is the cause. Conservative Islamic clerics in Pakistan, however, seem deeply suspicious of educating girls. There is no Koranic foundation for this, in part because when the Koran was wtitten (7th century AD), formal education for boys ir girls was not common. Never-the-less, influential Islamic scholars in Pakistan continue to be uncomfortable with educating girls.
Section 377 ofvthePakistani Penal Code criminalizes homosexuality. The law provodes for a prison term of 2 years to life. There were few prosecutions because homosexual activity is so underground.
Islamic law (Shariah) was re-introduced in Pakistan (1990). This provides for the punishment of homosexuals by 100 lashes or stoning them to death, depending on whether the person is married or not. The age of consent in Pakistan is 21.
Amnesty International (AI), "Pakistan: Authorities must protect and respect human rights in bringing an end to violent confrontation," Public Statement (ASA 33/015/2007).
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). "Persecution of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community: HRCP appalled by massacre of Ahmadis" HRCP Press Releases (October 2005).
Jordan, Mary. "Searching for freedom, chained by the law: As Pakistani women asserts rights, families use legal means to get revenge," Washington Posr (August 21, 2008), pp. A1, 12.
"Pakistan, Washington Post (October 2, 2007), p. A16.
United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Human Development Report 2007/2008>.
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