The upper house of parliament has passed four bills on Monday including the Anti-Rape (criminal laws amendment) Bill 2014 and Anti-Honor Killings (criminal laws amendment) Bill 2014, pursuing the authorization of the Standing Committee on Law and Justice.

honor-diaries

Pakistan People Party’s (PPP) Senator Syeda Sughra Imam shared her thoughts regarding honor killings and rape victims. She said that honor killings are that common act being exploited for the sake of honor, mostly in rural areas throughout the country, depriving the presence of hundreds of victims every year. While quoting the Aurat Foundation’s statistics, she said that 432 Pakistani women have lost their lives in the name of honor in 2012, 705 in 2011, 557 in 2010, 604 in 2009 and 475 lives lost their existence in 2008.

The draft bill of the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice regarding Anti-Rape Bill 2014 was conferred in the house on Friday. The committee cleared the bill which seeks amendments in the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CPC) and Qanoon-e-Shahadat Order.

According to the proposed law, unveiling the identity of a rape victim would be a punishable crime. The act seeks to make an addition of Section 228-A to PPC clause 1, which reads: “Whoever prints or publishes the name or any matter which may make known the identity of any person against whom an offence under Section 376 is alleged or found to have been committed shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to a fine.”

-Rimsha Shahid.