Pakistan: Domestic violence bill draws mixed reactions

A historic bill seeking to punish domestic abuse still raises doubts about its ability to meet the goal it sets out to do: end violence against women. That is assuming the bill, which was approved by the National Assembly on Aug. 4, will be passed by the Senate to make it a law. "Just as the proceedings began before the bill was put to a vote, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani got up to say his government supported the bill as it fell under their party manifesto's purview," said Yasmeen Rehman, a member of the ruling Pakistan People's Party, who sponsored the bill. "I was elated." Civil society groups advocating protection of women against all forms of violence dubbed the passage a "historic move. "The bill is significant," said Khawar Mumtaz, chief executive officer of Shirkat Gah Women's Resource Center, a women's rights group in Pakistan. "Firstly, it acknowledges the incidence of domestic violence. Secondly, it recognizes that it can no longer be ignored or remain invisible," Mumtaz told IPS. For too long, "treating domestic violence as a private affair has given protection to perpetrators of violence and has led to victimization of women," she said. "The passage of the bill "is a measure of success of women's advocacy."