[Kabar-indonesia] WSJ Editorial: Islam and Rape [incl: Indonesia essentially ignoring Hudood law]

[JoyoNews at aol.com]

The Wall Street Journal
Tuesday, August 1, 2006

Editorial

Islam and Rape

Women who are raped can face legal difficulties anywhere in the world. But 
nowhere is that truer than in the Muslim world, where a few countries -- 
including Saudi Arabia, Iran and Sudan -- still incarcerate or execute raped 
women. Now, Pakistan has a chance to set an example and change this despicable 
practice.

We're referring to "Hudood," a set of Quranic laws whose name is derived from 
"hud," meaning "punishment." While each country's version differs slightly, 
most Hudood laws legalize the prosecution of a woman for fornication if she 
cannot prove a crime was committed. In Pakistan, four Muslim men must have 
witnessed the event, and testify on the victim's behalf. If the woman can't produce 
those witnesses, she can be prosecuted for alleging a false crime. Penalties 
include stoning to death, lashings or prison.

Pakistan's Hudood laws were enacted by former President Zia ul-Haq in 1979, 
in an attempt to "Islamicize" the country. In stark contrast to more moderate 
Muslim-majority countries -- such as Indonesia and Malaysia, which have 
Hudood laws on the books, but essentially ignore them -- Pakistan's laws have 
been enforced. Fortunately, stonings and lashing are rare, but more than 
2,000 Pakistani women now languish in jail, at last count, for Hudood violations.

When Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf assumed his office in 2001, he 
vowed to tackle the Islamic Republic's toughest problems, from domestic 
radicals 
to political restructuring. But Hudood may well prove one of his most 
formidable domestic challenges yet. Pakistan's hardline Islamic political parties, 
including 
the Muttahida Majilis-e-Amal (MMA), the six-party religious coalition 
opposition 
party that controls 60 of 342 seats in the National Assembly, are vehemently 
opposed to repeal or revisions to Hudood. Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the largest 
Islamist party in the MMA, has been a particularly vocal opponent.

"Hudood is set forth in the holy Quran. We are an Islamic nation. We cannot 
repeal Hudood," Mohammed Aslam Saleemi, JI's vice president of legal affairs, 
told us. "However, we are open to discussing how it is enforced and 
implemented. We do not believe in imprisoning women, nor do we object to those arrested 
on Hudood violations receiving bail."

Encouragingly, General Musharraf, a Muslim who enjoys a fragile political 
coalition, has already taken some action. Last month, he issued a 
presidential decree that made 1,300 women awaiting trial on Hudood violations eligible 
for bail. 
To date, only about 300 of those accused have been released. This month, the 
National Assembly is expected to review further amendments when it reconvenes. 
Speculation is rife about what, exactly, General Musharraf wants to change. 
The issue is so divisive that the law ministry won't publicly disclose the full 
details of 
the amendments, for fear the opposition will kill the proposal before it gets 
to parliament.

The government has a good case to press. According to official statistics, 
about 80% of the more than 2,000 women currently in prison were convicted 
under Hudood laws. It's thought that thousands of rapes go unreported each 
year in Pakistan for fear of arrest, alienation and retribution.

The issue is starting to hit the streets. In March, 1,000 women demonstrated 
outside of Islamabad's parliament, demanding Hudood's repeal, while some 
5,000 also rallied in Multan, a city in eastern Punjab. Among the latter rally's 
leaders was Mukthar Mai, who was gang raped in 2002 by order of a village 
council as retribution for her 13-year-old brother's illicit affair with a woman of 
a higher caste. The event embarrassed Pakistan internationally and ignited a 
movement to repeal the law.

General Musharraf must balance the wishes of Pakistan's hardline Islamic 
parties and the country's more moderate elements. Pakistan's nonreligious 
political parties command about 80% of the popular vote and represent a younger 
generation, who presumably are less concerned about punishments prescribed a 
thousand years 
ago than with democratic, fair policies. In revamping its Hudood laws, 
Pakistan has 
a rare chance to set an example for its more radical Muslim peers.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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