A womans life

In Pakistan, why is a woman’s life worth more than a man’s? It’s un-Islamic.

Surah Al-Maida (5:32) states “…that whoever kills a soul it is as if he had slain mankind entirely…” There’s nowhere in the Qu’ran where it says that the value of a woman’s life is more than a man’s. There are plenty of verses and hadiths that emphasise the importance of a woman but nowhere does it say that killing a woman deserves heavier punishment than killing a man or that justice should be delivered quicker. So, why is there is a difference in this supposed Islamic Republic of Pakistan?

I was looking up the Federal Shariat Court which was set up in 1980 – its role is to ensure that laws passed by our dubious politicians comply with Shariah law. That constitutional court also only concerns itself with appellate jurisdictions in Hudood cases. Murder cases are dealt with in the Sessions courts and they follow the Criminal Procedure Code that was laid down by the British – in fact in 1868. So, Pakistan despite achieving independence in 1947 (on paper at least) is still following the coloniser’s lawbook.

Why am I aggrieved? I’ll say from the outset that I am a woman and this article may offend – there’s no intention to offend but facts are immutable and if you take offence at what follows, that is your prerogative.

My brother Farooq was assassinated at Ramada by Wyndham in March 2022 – we are 2 years on and have just reached the trial court after ICT Police obstructions and legal struggles. Hardly any media coverage but since 2022 I have learnt that again in Pakistan, we barely have any credible journalism. So this case has gone under the radar despite the hotel involved, despite the fact that he was a UK citizen (you can compare this to the very high profile cases of other male UK citizens and come to your own conclusions) and despite his background – a Biochemistry graduate, someone who’d applied for NEPRA chairmanship in 2014 and a writer that included political output. He was a patriot – he came back to Pakistan when let’s face it most Pakistanis run abroad when they can.

The Noor Mukadam case was very high profile – it was a horrific murder in July 2021. Of that there is no doubt. She was trapped, tortured, raped and decapitated. She was the daughter of a former diplomat – I have huge empathy for the family’s loss. By February 2022, Zahir Zaffer was convicted. The social media was abuzz with “Justice For Noor” and newspapers followed the case – it could be just pure sensationalism but out came the “human rights defenders”, “liberals” and “feminists”. Yet there are unpleasant issues here that I don’t think in an “Islamic Republic” we should shy away from – she was an unmarried woman visiting a man at night. This is wholly unislamic behaviour and unbecoming of all societal propriety.

Sara Inam, a Canadian national, was killed by her husband of 3 months in September 2022 – by December 2022 there was a guilty verdict. It was another horrific incident. I don’t recall the same social media outrage but certainly the media covered it and justice was swiftly served. According to her family, she had married this man and then revealed it to them.

I don’t doubt there are countless other horrific acts against other women – some without the liberal tendencies of these women and who don’t receive any exposure.  I deplore these acts and they are unislamic. Justice should be meted out promptly without fear or favour to apparent status (let’s not pretend meritocracy actually exists in Pakistan) but importantly without reference to gender. The Human Rights Commission in Pakistan says there are about 470 “honour killings” in Pakistan yearly – this figure then gets inflated to 1000/deaths per year. The homicide death rate is ~4 per 100 000 i.e. about 8000 deaths per year. It’s not clear what’s included in that – but for argument’s sake let’s say 6000 are of men.

Yet we have initiatives in Pakistan to bring the murderers of women and those raping women to justice in special courts. Why do these crimes require special courts? Who’s pushing this agenda? Well I do know the various NGOs push it – often funding is linked to “women’s rights” and “human rights” that selectively only apply to women. So a foreigner could be raped in Pakistan and she’ll be fast-tracked. What about the “rights” of men? What about the “rights” of Patriots? Are the rest of us cannon fodder? Many feminist movements in the West are predominately run by Jews – to destabilise the family unit. They openly push for “liberation” and deplore the family. It’s time I believe to look at these pervasive influences in Pakistan – minorities are protected in Pakistan but they should be wary about pushing degeneracy here as they have done in the West and any Jewish/foreign NGOs need reviewing. Whether Pakistanis are up to that task whilst they still slobber over British and American boots, remains to be seen.

I also believe it is high time for Sharia law to be implemented in Pakistan in all cases. There is no justification for a supposedly sovereign Islamic Republic to be applying British laws. I ask the Federal Shariat Court to take note what is unislamic application of law in murder. My brother Farooq’s life – a Patriot – was worth more than Noor Mukadam’s. It certainly wasn’t less.

Yasmin Ali was a banking lawyer in the UK and was ‘blacklisted’ by the Jewish lobby. She works full-time on the JusticeForFarooqAliKhan campaign – her brother Farooq was allegedly murdered at Ramada by Wyndham Hotel in Islamabad – she deems it an extrajudicial killing. She can be followed on Twitter @Justice4Farooq.

Views expressed in this Op-ed and following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the TLTP.