"Hudood" Law Controversy
The MMA threatened to resign from national and provincial assemblies in protest after Pakistan's parliament amended laws to transfer rape cases from its 'Sharia' courts to civil courts.
Sharia courts in Pakistan, which claim to be based on Islamic law, try rape cases under "Hudood" Ordinances instituted in 1979. According to critics of the ordinance, a rape victim could face adultery (or fornication if unmarried) charges unless she can produce four male Muslim witnesses of good character to her rape. Failing to do so entails a maximum sentence for adultery is death by stoning. However, Mufti Taqi Usmani, an instrumental figuring in making the Hudud Laws, has stated "If anyone says that she was punished because of Qazaf (false accusation of rape) then Qazaf Ordinance, Clause no. 3, Exemption no. 2 clearly states that if someone approaches the legal authorities with a rape complaint, she cannot be punished in case she is unable to present 4 witnesses. No court of law can be in its right mind to award such a punishment."
The Hudood Ordinances are widely condemned by women's rights groups in Pakistan, by some Islamists globally, and by international human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch.
Read more about this topic: Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal
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