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History of the Hudood
Ordinance:
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The Hudood consists of 5 Ordinances
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- The Offence of Zina Ordinance
- Prohibition Ordinance
- The Offence Against Property Ordinance
- Offence of Qazf Ordinance
- Execution of Punishment of Whipping Ordinance
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The Hudood Ordinances were promulgated
by Gen Zia ul Haq in 1979 with an aim to bring the existing
laws in conjunction with the teachings of the Quran and Sunnah.
The Ordinance was a result of homework of some leading legal
experts and religious scholars of the time. The main area of
contention with the law is how the Quran and Sunnah have been
interpreted. Since their inception, the Hudood Ordinance has
come under fire not only from human rights activists but also
from religious scholars who deem it to be skewed representation
of the Islamic texts |
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With the passing of the 8th Amendment
in the Constitution in 1985, the Hudood Ordinance are now protected
by the Constitution and changes in the law can only be made
with a two third majority in the Parliament |
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The case that highlighted national
and international protest against the Zina Ordinance was the
Safia Bibi case in 1983. Safia Bibi, a 13 year old blind girl
alleged rape by her employer and his son but was charged for
adultery under the Zina Ordinance whilst the rapists were acquitted.
Upon national and international pressure the Federal Shariat
Court called for the records of the case and released Safia
Bibi from prison |
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In 1994 the Commission of Inquiry
for Women was set up to review the laws and in 1997, under the
chairperson Justice Nasir Aslam Zahid, the report recommended
repeal of the Hudood Laws |
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Again in the year 2000 a permanent
National Commission on the Status of Women was established to
review all laws and policies affecting women. Under the chairperson
Justice Majida Rizvi a 15 member special committee reviewed
the Hudood Ordinances and recommended repeal of these laws |
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