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Women’s Rights: Religious and Cultural Intolerance in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan . Dr Niaz A Shah Lecturer in Law n.shah@hull.ac.uk. Overview . Violations of women’s rights Is it religion or culture? Misconceptions at domestic and international levels .
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Women’s Rights: Religious and Cultural Intolerance in the Tribal Areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan Dr Niaz A Shah Lecturer in Law n.shah@hull.ac.uk
Overview • Violations of women’s rights • Is it religion or culture? • Misconceptions at domestic and international levels
Violations of women’s rights • Honour killing • Forced marriages • Lack of property rights
Violations of women’s rights • Limited access to education, employment etc: • Probably very limited in the tribal zone • Harmful traditions, e.g. male child preference over female
Honour killing • Traditionally it is called ‘Karo Kari’. Karo means ‘a black man’ and Kari ‘a black woman’
Honour killing • In common parlance ‘a black man’ and ‘a black woman’ are those who are guilty or suspected of illicit sexual relationship thereby defiling man’s/family honour
Honour killing • Man/family is responsible for restoring/revenging family honour • It is not only women who are killed. Men get killed too.
Is it religion or culture? • Islamic law prohibits honour killing: • Islamic law prohibits sexual relations outside marriage; • Punishment only after a fair trial, not by family members • Killing for honour is a cultural norm
Misperceptions • Practices such as honour killing have created misperceptions at domestic and international levels regarding Islam and Islamic law
Main causes • Ignorance of religion • Lack of education • Poverty/lack of economic development
Solution/s • Islamic education can prevent the violation of women’s rights in many areas • Economic development can play an important role