ISLAMABAD: Scores of the users of Twitter and women rights activists have slammed the federal government’s decision of sending the Domestic Violence Protection and Prevention Bill, 2021 to the Council of Islamic Ideology for review. Social media users are of the opinion that the CCI lacks the representation of women and it was unfair to refer this bill to the council.
However, in a letter dated July 5, 2021, Babar Awan, the adviser to the prime minister on parliamentary affairs, pointed out that the bill, initially passed by the National Assembly in April, was referred back to the Lower House of Parliament after the Senate suggested amendments to the proposed law.
The letter states that concerns have been raised “regarding various definitions and other contents of the bill.”
The bill defines domestic violence as “all acts of physical, emotional, psychological, sexual and economic abuse committed by a respondent against women, children, vulnerable persons, or any other person with whom the respondent is or has been in a domestic relationship that causes feat, physical or psychological harm to the aggrieved person”. On Twitter, it has been praised for being wide-ranging and extensive.
The bill was initially moved by Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari on April 19 and is only going to apply to Islamabad. Sindh, KP and Punjab all have their own laws against domestic violence.
The news that the bill was being sent to the CII sent shockwaves across Twitter as people couldn’t understand why.
