Increasing incidences of sexual violence are deadly to human society. Even animals may be ashamed to see how insecure women, girls and children are in today’s human society. Adultery is considered poison for human society since ancient times. Most religions and societies have made adultery a punishable offense.
From ancient times to the present day, all human societies have agreed that the survival of mankind and the establishment of human civilization depend on the fact that men and women should not live for mere physical pleasure. What difference does it make to human society and the way animals live if men and women meet freely just for fun, regardless of the creation of a family?
In such a case, the root of communal life will be cut off and the foundation on which this building of civilization has been built will destroy. For these reasons, adultery is considered a grave sin, great immorality, and legal crime. In this regard, human societies, especially Muslim states, have always understood the importance of marriage for the prevention of adultery, as well as prescribed punishments for men and women who commit adultery.
The prevalence of adultery in the present era, especially in Islamic countries, is disturbing. A country like Pakistan, which was built on the slogan of Islam, is included in the list of ten countries in the world in terms of statistics of adultery. According to a report, 14,850 women, children, and girls were abducted in one year in the Punjab province, which is considered to be more credible than the rest of the provinces in terms of governance. In 15% of these cases, the victims were killed.
Some cases that caused a stir on social media, including Zainab and Lahore motorway gang rape, forced the law enforcement agencies to take action against the culprits.
Some politicians made huge claims just for political point-scoring, but the results were practically zero.
What is the reason for all this? Is it not necessary to enforce the law of Hudood-e-Allah only on adultery? Isn’t adultery punishable in Pakistani law? The reasons for its growth are linked to a number of factors. Hudood laws exist in Pakistan which was made in the time of General Zia in 1979.
According to Surah Noor verse no. 2: The punishment for adultery was stoning to death for the married and 100 lashes for the unmarried. It was necessary to bring four witnesses to prove adultery, which was met with various controversies and criticisms, and the Women Protection Act Bill was enacted in 2006.
Until then, adultery was under control, but the Women Protection Act was ostensibly made in favor of women, but contrary to the Hudood-e-Allah, it relaxed the punishment for adultery and left adultery to the will of women instead of considering it a sin.
If adultery is committed against the will of the woman, the accused will be punished and the punishment will be commuted to life imprisonment or death, which strengthens adultery to some extent.
But the issue is not limited to this and many factors are contributing to it, including poverty, inflation, wasteful traditions, pornographic films, dramas, and other programs. The weaknesses in the law and misconduct of the authorities are at the top of the list that is supporting the adultery.
The current government was not taking this matter seriously either. After the Lahore motorway tragedy, a letter was written to the Prime Minister Imran Khan in order to wake up the government from its slumber and inform him about the careless and frivolous attitude of the authorities and remove the obstacles in the way of justice.
In this regard, Prime Minister Imran Khan directed the PM Delivery Unit (PMDU) to set up a national emergency helpline within two months. There will be one helpline number for any emergency nationwide. All existing helplines across the country would be connected to the new national helpline and the number of the helpline would be toll-free. It remains to be seen when and to what extent these orders will be implemented
