Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Bill unanimously approved by NA

Islamabad (Express Tribune) – The Prevention of Anti-Women Practices (Criminal Law Amendment) was unanimously approved by the National Assembly on Tuesday, Express 24/7 reported.

The historical bill was tabled by Member of National Assembly Dr Donya Aziz. The bill is aimed at prohibiting exploitation and discrimination against women.

According to the bill, a punishment of up to 10 years imprisonment and a penalty of Rs5 million will be handed to anyone who forces a woman into marriage, while a person who marries a woman against her consent will be imprisoned for three to ten years with a fine of Rs0.5 million.

The bill also states that those who are involved in conducting weddings in exchange for personal gains or settling difference will be sentenced to five years in prison, whereas, marrying a girl off to the Quran will end up in imprisonment for seven years and a fine of Rs0.5 million.

The bill, which advocates greater social protection for women, had earlier been shot down in the National Assembly after some members had refused to vote without having received a copy of proposed amendments to the bill.

The debate on the bill had been deferred after Shah Mahmood Qureshi and a Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) MNA, Ayaz Amir, had raised the objection.