Pakistani Islamic Council Proposes Allowing Men to ‘Lightly Beat’ Their Wives

The Council of Islamic Ideology has proposed allowing a man to ‘lightly beat’ his wife if she does not ‘dress as he desires’, refuses to have sex, or fails to take a bath after her period.

The 20-member council is a constitutional body of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, but can only advise the government rather than make laws.

Its latest proposals come as part of its own women protection bill, after it rejected Punjab province’s controversial Protection of Women against Violence Act, branding it un-Islamic.

It suggests that women can be beaten if they refuse to have sex without a religious excuse or fail to bathe after intercourse and periods.

Women should also be beaten for not wearing hijabs, or for speaking so loudly that strangers can hear them, it recommends.

The bill argues that women should be banned from military combat, welcoming foreign delegations and appearing in advertisements, and must have spousal permission to give monetary support to somebody.

Female nurses should be banned from taking care of male patients and there should be no-co-education after primary school, it suggests.

The bill advises that a woman must not interact with strangers and that abortion after 120 days should be declared murder.

However, it says that a woman can participate in politics without the permission of her parents and that anyone who tries to force women to marry should be jailed for ten years.

Sources in the council told The Express Tribune that three of the council members rejected some of the proposals in the bill during heated discussion led by Chairman Muhammad Khan Sheerani.

The only female member of the council, Dr Sameeha Raheel Qazi, was not present on Wednesday when it was being discussed.