Islamabad, 2nd October, 2017: Senator Sehar Kamran’s bill seeking to increase minimum number of women in the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) could not gain sufficient support by the Committee on Law and Justice, today. A unanimous resolution was passed by the Senate of Pakistan on 21st November, 2016 which was followed by a bill presented on the floor of the house on 21st August, 2017 calling for amending the Article 228 of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973 which was then sent to the Committee for further action.
The bill stated that with regards to the conditions of composition of the Council, Article 228(3)(b) which says that “not less than two of the members are persons each of whom is, or has been a Judge of the Supreme Court of a High Court”, and Article 228(3)(d) lays down that “at least one member is a woman”. It also called for a new clause to be inserted which stated “for the purpose of quorum for meetings, at least one third of women members shall be present”.
Senator Sehar Kamran stated the present Article 228 of the Constitution calling for at least one female member representation needs to be amended to at least one third, as there is a dire need for consultation with female members especially on matters related to women. She said we have ample examples from our Islamic history where women were consulted on religious affairs even when Prophet hood was first revealed upon Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH), the first person he consulted with was his wife, Hazrat Khadija (RA).
Senator Kamran said today is a sad day for the women of Pakistan as their voice has once again been repressed by the incumbent government. She said PML-N’s government does not allow private members bill to pass and causes hindrances, even when issues of such international significance are presented. She stated that the increased participation in the council is also simply a part of women empowerment drives in the country; seeing women in the council will encourage more women to take charge of their lives and workspaces without taboos or holding themselves back.
Senator Sehar Kamran stated that we could have given a positive signal to the world, had this bill was allowed to pass which called for increasing the number of women in the CII thereby empowering them but unfortunately it could not happen. She said it is disappointing to see that we as legislators could not develop a consensus on such vitally important issue of women representation in the CII. For how long we will keep the female voice out of the decision making processes which equally affect almost half the population, she added.
The Chair and some members of the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice opined that CII was initially formulated for seven years and it has served its purpose as so many years have already passed. The Chairman also stated that the CII has been without a Chairman since last December.
Same version of the appeared in Daily Times News
Same version of the appeared in The News
Same version of the appeared in DAWN News