Shaheen Ali presents a keynote paper at international workshop in Helsinki “Friend or Foe? Law Reform as double edged sword for women. Some Critical Reflections on Selected law reform in Pakistan and implications for women’s human rights” at the international workshop Women's Agency and Law: Perspectives from the Nordic and the Global South, organized by the Helsinki Collegium of the University of Helsinki, Finland on 30 May 2011.

ABSTRACT:

This presentation attempts to problemmatize the concept of law reform in the Muslim world as an effective tool of social engineering and advancement of women’s rights. It raises a number of questions in this regard including inter alia:

Has law reform proved to be an ally or foe of Muslim women in post-colonial jurisdictions including Pakistan? Under the broad framework of this overarching question, we seek to investigate the following:

To what extent has law reform in Pakistan responded to the demands of the women’s movement?

Women activists have often invoked Islamic law to seek law reform. As a strategy, how has this approach impacted on gender justice?

Can law reform counter discriminatory plural legalities (such as misogynistic customary practices)?

After providing a brief historical overview of law reform impacting on women in the global south focussing on the Indian sub-continent (as it was then) the paper will move on to focus on law reform in Pakistan. It will interrogate the application and impact of selected laws including the Dissolution of Muslim Marriages Act 1939 (DMMA); Muslim Personal (Shariat Application)Act 1937 (MPL);the Muslim Family Law Ordinance 1961 (MFLO); the Offence of Zina (Enforcement of Hudood) 1979 and the Women Protection Act 2006 (WPA)of Pakistan.