Pakistan passes landmark women’s rights bill

Published: Sunday, November 27, 2011

The Pakistani National Assembly has passed a long-awaited women's rights bill which outlaws forced marriage, sexual discrimination and the use of women as a bargaining tool when settling personal and tribal disputes.

The practice, knows as Sarwa, degrades women to mere objects which are offered as "peace tokens" by a guilty party in a blood feud. Women are married to one of the victim's male relatives and usually are treated like slaves as a punishment.

Under the new law, forcing a woman into a marriage for settling a dispute will be punishable by three to five years of imprisonment and a fine of around half a million rupees.

But outlawing the practice of Sawra is one thing; ending it is another. It has a long tradition and changing mindsets may well be a difficult process.

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