Pakistan Senate Okays Rape Law
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Pakistan’s Senate yesterday approved amendments to a rape law amid protests by some lawmakers who claim the legislation violates Islam.
The proposal passed in a voice vote before the Senate, a week after clearing the National Assembly, Information Minister Mohammed Ali Durrani said. The bill now goes before President Musharraf, who is expected to sign it.
General Musharraf has been a strong supporter of changing some sections of the 1979 Hudood Ordinance or rape laws. Activists have long condemned them for punishing — instead of protecting — rape victims while providing legal safeguards for their attackers.
The new law would drop the death penalty for people found to have had sex outside of marriage, and it would allow judges to choose whether to try a rape case in a criminal court or Islamic court.
