President Pervez Musharraf has asked the women of the country to vote in the forthcoming general elections against those who opposed the Women Protection Bill (WPB). "You are 8 crore. Get together and reject the elements who want to keep you underprivileged. Vote against them.
This government is with you", he told the audience at the 'Women Convention-2006', a state-managed function held on Tuesday at the Jinnah Convention Centre to celebrate the successful passage of Women Protection Bill.
Coming hard on the detractors of the bill, the President said that "they are hypocrites', adding that their ancestors had opposed printing of Holy Quran and had dubbed Quaid-i-Azam as 'Kafir-i-Azam'. "I will describe them as 'munafiq'. While they talked much against the bill, at the time of voting they were absent. If they were brave, they should have voted against it," he said.
Present at the function were Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, some other Ministers and a large number of women from all over the country. But conspicuous by their absence were the parliamentary leaders including PML president Shujaat Hussain. But the president was fully supportive of Shujjat's six-point bill, covering many other infringements, which were left out of the WPB.
He congratulated the entire nation and the "moderate political parties", without naming them, who put aside their differences and supported this "aggressively progressive bill". "I congratulate them, and I am thankful to them," he said. "This is the victory of the moderate forces," he added.
The President upheld the justification to amend the Zia-vintage Hudood Ordinance. He said those who dubbed the women rights enactment un-Islamic should "differentiate between the 'Hudood' and the 'Hudood Ordinance' ", arguing that "while the 'Hudood injunctions' are Quranic and cannot be changed, the 'Hudood Ordinance', being manmade, can be amended."
He said that given the fact that "we all being emotional Muslims, there can be possibly hundreds of differing interpretations of Hudood. Therefore, those who oppose (in good faith) should not be censured, except the ones who oppose the bill because they oppose me".
He observed that in Pakistan the institution empowered to declare anything Islamic or un-Islamic is the Islamic Ideology Council (IIC)."Since this bill was found to be fully in consonance with Quran and Sunnah, the people should accept it."
"I want to put your destiny in your hands", he told the audience, seeking their cooperation on this long journey towards a moderate and progressive Pakistan.
The President said that his government was sharply focused on its mission to help the "underprivileged", which, according to him, include the poor, the women and the minorities. "The minorities are as good patriots as Muslims: they should get what is theirs, as a matter of right."
In pursuance of his mission, he unfolded the roadmap, comprising commitment to ensure empowerment of women by inducting them into political offices, eradication of social evils via Shujaat's bill, and gender mainstreaming. He also announced an stipend of Rs 2000 for each woman councillor, which would be increased in proportion to improvement of national economy.
The President called upon the NGOs and media to play their due roles in curbing violence against women, but warned against "washing dirty linen outside the country...Pakistan should not be defamed abroad." Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the Cabinet members welcomed the President on arrival.
In his address of welcome, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said that prior to tabling the Women Protection Bill in the assembly, consultations were held with all, "but when the time came to move ahead, the one man who said bravo was President Pervez Musharraf".
He said that the bill was not opposed by any parliamentarian. "No one voted against it, as some had left the house at the time of voting, and others did not vote. That means there was no negative vote". But the President did not agree with him, and called these absentees "munafiq".
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