Law Would Require Husbands to Beat Wives Who Refuse Sex

But it probably won't be passed
By Luke Roney,  Newser Staff
Posted May 30, 2016 2:03 PM CDT
Law Would Require Husbands to Beat Wives Who Refuse Sex
Women in Pakistan face beating for refusing sex under proposed legislation.   (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)

Meanwhile in Pakistan: A constitutional body, NBC reports, has put forth legislation that would legally require men to “lightly beat” their wives should they decline sex. The 160-page draft enumerates several other instances that would call for “limited violence,” including:

  • A wife’s failure to wear clothes to her spouse’s liking
  • Failure to bathe following intercourse or during menstruation
  • Failure to wear a hijab
  • Giving money to someone without permission from her husband
  • Speaking too loudly
According to the Telegraph, Muhammad Kahn Sherani, chairman of the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), tells the Express-Tribune newspaper: "If you want her to mend her ways, you should first advise her. If she refuses, stop talking to her … stop sharing a bed with her. And if things do not change, get a bit strict." A “bit strict” includes hitting her with a handkerchief, hat, or turban. But, he adds, “do not hit her on the face or private parts.”

Per NBC, the CII says men who don’t follow the guidelines, which were submitted to lawmakers in the Punjab province, should be prosecuted. The Telegraph notes that the CII is an advisory body that makes recommendations to lawmakers. Allama Tahir Ashrafi, a former member of the CII, calls the proposed guidelines "unbelievable,” telling NBC that “violence is forbidden by Islam, period." The law minister in Punjab wonders how religious scholars would “ensure that light beating doesn’t become heavy beating.” The CII proposal is a rebuttal after Punjab province supported legislation called the Protection of Women Against Violence Act ... an act the body called “un-Islamic.” (More Pakistan stories.)

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