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The Hudood Ordinance (Urdu: حدود مسودہ) (also spelled Hudud) was a law in Pakistan that was enacted in 1979 as part of then military ruler Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization process, and replaced/revised in 2006 by the Women's Protection Bill.

The Hudood Law was ostensibly intended to implement Islamic Shari'a law, by enforcing punishments mentioned in the Quran and sunnah for Zina (extra-marital sex)^[1], Qazf (false accusation of zina), Offence Against Property (theft), and Prohibition (the drinking of alcohol).

The ordinance has been criticized as leading to "hundreds of incidents where a woman subjected to rape, or even gang rape, was eventually accused of Zina" and incarcerated,^[2] and defended as punishment ordained by God and victim of "extremely unjust propaganda".^[3]

Contents 1 Sentences 2 Controversy 3 Comparison with Quran and sunnah 4 See also 5 References

For married Muslims, the maximum punishment for zina is death by stoning, or for unmarried couples or non-Muslims, 100 lashes. In practice, only imprisonment has ever been enforced, because the maximum punishments require four eyewitnesses as above.

The maximum punishments for drinking alcohol and theft are respectively 80 lashes and amputation of the right hand.

The ordinance is most criticized for making it exceptionally difficult and dangerous to prove an allegation of rape. A woman alleging rape is required to provide four adult male witnesses of good standing of "the act of penetration". In practice this is virtually impossible as no man of good standing would stand there and watch the violent act. Failure to find such proof of the rape places the woman at risk of prosecution for accusing an innocent man of adultery, which does not require such strong evidence.^[4] According to a report by Pakistan National Commission on the Status of Women (NCSW) "an estimated 80% of women" in jail in 2003 were there as because "they had failed to prove rape charges and were consequently convicted of adultery." ^[5]

Stories of great personal suffering by women who have claimed to be raped have appeared in the press in the years following the passing of the Hudood ordinances.

The evidence of guilt was there for all to see: a newborn baby in the arms of its mother, a village woman named Zafran Bibi. Her crime: she had been raped. Her sentence: death by stoning. Now Ms. Zafran, who is about 26, is in solitary confinement in a death-row cell ...

Thumping a fat red statute book, the white-bearded judge who convicted her, Anwar Ali Khan, said he had simply followed the letter of the Koran-based law, known as hudood, that mandates punishments.

"The illegitimate child is not disowned by her and therefore is proof of zina," he said, referring to laws that forbid any sexual contact outside marriage. Furthermore, he said, in accusing her brother-in-law of raping her, Ms. Zafran had confessed to her crime. ^[6]

However, Mufti Taqi Usmani, an instrumental figure in making the law, has stated

If anyone says that she was punished because of Qazaf (false accusation of rape) then Qazaf Ordinance, Clause no. 3, Exemption no. 2 clearly states that if someone approaches the legal authorities with a rape complaint, she cannot be punished in case she is unable to present 4 witnesses. No court of law can be in its right mind to award such a punishment.^[7]

A number of international, Islamist and Pakistani human rights organizations campaign for the law's repeal. Some have argued that it goes beyond what is required by Shari'a,^[8] but they are opposed by culturally conservative religious parties, who accuse them of departing from Islamic values and would only support changes which accord with their own interpretation of Shari'a. The governments of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif both set up commissions to investigate the Hudood Ordinance. Both commissions recommended amending certain aspects of the law, but neither government followed through.

In 2006, President Musharraf again proposed reform of the Ordinance.^[9] On November 15 2006, the "Women's Protection Bill" was passed in Pakistan's National Assembly, allowing rape to be prosecutable under civil law. The bill was ratified by Pakistan's Senate on 23rd November 2006,^[10] and became law after President Musharraf signed it on 1 December 2006.^[11]

The reforms have come under considerable opposition from Islamist groups in Pakistan, who insist that law should stay in Sharia form but amended. Some Islamists have fiercly criticised the laws.^[12] Other legal experts have claimed that the original law was not so unbalanced as its opponents claim^[13] or that the reforms will be impossible to enforce.^[14]

This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please improve the article by adding references. See the talk page for details. (September 2007)

The relevant Quranic verses are 24:4 ("And those who launch a charge against chaste women, and produce not four witnesses (to support their allegations), flog them with eighty stripes; and reject their evidence ever after [...]") and 24:6-9 in the case of marital disputes.^[15]

Islam, as shown in both the Quran and the hadith forbids perzinahan (sexual intercourse outside of marriage). A person who commits a sexual act outside of marriage is considered to lose their faith. As the Prophet said in one of the texts of the hadith narrated by Abdullah bin Abbas:

A person who commits this act (sexual intercourse outside of marriage) is not a true believer of their faith Imam Bukhari and Muslim (See Ibn Al-Atsir, Jami al-Ushul, XII/329 no. 9330).

Perzinahan is the act of sexual intercourse outside of a valid marriage. The primary element of perzinahan is the physical act of sexual intercourse outside of marriage. Perzinahan could be the possible base for the formulation of the act of rape, but rape of course cannot be identified with perzinahan. Acts of rape possess an extra element to that of other sexual relations outside of marriage; that is, the force and violence used creating a traumatic experience for the victim.

Acts of rape also occurred at the time of the Prophet Muhammad, as is expressed in a text of the hadith narrated by Imam Turmudzi and Abu Dawud, from close friend Wail bin Hujr (see Ibn al-Atsir, Jami al-Ushul, IV/270, no 1823).

One day (at the time of the Prophet) a woman left her house to go and pray at the Mosque. On her way she was met by a man who forced her to have sexual intercourse. The woman screamed while the man raped her. After he raped her the man ran away. A group of men (who accompanied the Prophet on his flight form Mecca to Medina) passed by the girl and she said to them (pointing in the direction of the man running) “that man just raped me”. They then ran after him and caught him and when face to face with the woman she said “yes that was the person”. They went to the Prophet and the man said “Yes Prophet it was me who did this”. The Prophet said to the girl “go now, God has already pardoned you”. The Prophet then said to the man (while appreciating his confession) “stone him”. He then said “Actually, he has already learnt his lesson and if someone learns their lesson all the people of Median will understand.

Those who committed acts of rape at the time of the Prophet were punished, while the victim was freed with the hope that they would obtain forgiveness form God. At that time the punishment for rape – which had been carried out with force and violence was precisely the same punishment as those who committed perzinahan, which was not carried out with force or violence. As a result, the majority of religious teachers of the hadith and of fiqh place the act of rape on the same level as the act of perzinahan. The only difference is that with perzinahan both actors have to receive the punishment, while with rape only the rapist receives the punishment, while the victim is freed. But the threat of punishment facing both of the cases is the same.

Several other texts of the hadith support this argument, as is seen in the narration by Imam al-Turmudzi:

There was a girl who was raped (at the time of the Prophet), she was freed from punishment for perzinahan (sexual intercourse outside of marriage), while the perpetrator was subjected to punishment.

In the narration by Imam Bukhari and Malik, from Nafi mawla Ibn Umar it says:

That Shafiyyah bin Abi Ubaid reports: "that a male slave meets a female slave and forces her to engage in sexual relations, so Khalifah Umar (a close friend of the prophet) says 'punish him with a lashings but do not punish the woman'" (see Ibn al-Atsir, Jami al-Ushul, IV/269 no 1822).

• Hudood
• Pakistan penal code

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1. ^ The Offence of Zina (Enforcement Of Hudood) Ordinance, 1979: English text of the law
2. ^ NATIONAL COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN'S REPORT ON HUDOOD ORDINANCES 1979
3. ^ The Reality of ‘Women Protection Bill
4. ^ Washington Times, "A victory for Pakistani women"
5. ^ Jails and prisoners, State of Human Rights 2004, HRCP The number of women "believed to be in jail in March" 2003 according to the HRCP report is 1500.
6. ^ In Pakistan, Rape Victims Are the 'Criminals' By SETH MYDANS From: New York Times, May 17, 2002
7. ^ Mufti Taqi Usmani (retired judge), The Reality of ‘Women Protection Bill’
8. ^ Muttahida Quami Movement, "Particular coterie of religious scholars wish to deprive women of their just and basic rights", 7 September 2006
9. ^ The Hindu, "Musharraf wants Hudood laws amended"
10. ^ BBC News, "Pakistan senate backs rape bill"
11. ^ "Musharraf signs Women's bill"
12. ^ Islam Channel's presenters Hassan and Habibah [1]
13. ^ Mufti Taqi Usmani (retired judge), The Reality of ‘Women Protection Bill’
14. ^ BBC News, "Strong feelings over Pakistan rape laws"
15. ^ Quran Ch 24