A court in Pakistan has sentenced a man to several months in prison for marrying a second woman without his wife's consent. Activists say the landmark ruling is a huge win for women's rights in the Islamic country.
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A judge in the northeastern city of Lahore ordered Shahzad Saqib to serve a six-month jail term and pay a fine of 200,000 Pakistani rupees (about €1,630 or $1,900) for taking a second wife, local media reported on Thursday.
The man's first wife, Ayesha Bibi, successfully argued that her husband had broken Pakistan's 2015 family law by going ahead with the marriage without her approval.
The court rejected the man's reasoning that he did not need permission because Islam allows men to have up to four wives. He has the right to appeal the verdict.
"It will discourage polygamy and encourage women to take up their case with the courts. It will create awareness among people, in general, and women, in particular. Wronged women using this law will lead to their empowerment," Viqar said.
In the lead-up to the court decision, the country's Council of Islamic Ideology had repeatedly criticized the right of the first wife to have a say if her husband wishes to remarry. The panel advises the government on the compatibility of laws with Islam, but its recommendations are not legally binding.
Forced piety - Pakistan's Ramadan law and vigilantism
Pakistan's Ramadan law, which bans people from eating in public, has once again come under discussion after lawmakers recently introduced stricter penalties. Why does Pakistan insist on enforcing the harsh law?
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Harsh penalties
In Pakistan, it is illegal to drink, eat or even smoke in public during Ramadan. You can be sent to jail, heavily fined, or may even be beaten by vigilantes. Earlier this month, the country's lawmakers introduced stricter penalties that could see people jailed for up to three months for a violation.
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'This is not Islam'
Bakhtawar Bhutto, the daughter of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, was quick to condemn the latest amendment, dubbing the law "ridiculous." "Not everyone in Pakistan will be fasting - children in school, the elderly, people with medical issues - Should we arrest them for drinking water?" tweeted Bhutto. "People are going to die from heat stroke and dehydration with this ridiculous law."
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Obliged to fast
"A person who, according to the tenets of Islam, is under an obligation to fast shall not eat, drink or smoke in a public place during fasting hours in the month of Ramadan," says the Ehtiram-e-Ramadan (Respect for Ramadan) law, which was introduced by the military dictator Zia-ul-Haq in 1981.
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Austerity and peity
Theologically, Ramadan is about austerity. It teaches Muslims to be pious, to stay away from evil, to fast during the day, and to donate money to the poor. "Zakat" (which means alms-giving in Arabic) is an Islamic tradition in which Muslims give part of their earnings to those in need, particularly during this holy month.
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Unbearably hot weather
The Islamic month of Ramadan coincides with sweltering temperatures in most Muslim-majority countries. In 2015, a brutal heat wave killed over 1,250 people in Pakistan - many of them died of dehydration while fasting. Even then, the government did not relax the 36-year-old law. Some clerics did, however, say it was permissible to break the Ramadan fast for health reasons.
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No respite
Nearly all restaurants are closed from fajr (dawn) until maghreb (dusk), and shopkeepers only sell takeaway food items. If you are hungry or thirsty the only place for you is home. At offices - both public and private - you are not allowed to eat.
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Rising religious extremism
With the war in Afghanistan and growth of Islamist organizations such as the Taliban in the region, things have taken a turn for the worse in the past few years. Religious extremism and intolerance are on the rise in the South Asian Islamic country. At the same time, Ramadan is also an opportunity for extremist and militant outfits to rake in cash through charity donations.
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Vigilantism
Incidents of religious vigilantism have spiked in the past few years, with fanatic mobs trying to enforce their own version of Shariah. A number of people have been lynched on unproven accusations of blasphemy. Observers say the existence of various Islamic laws has emboldened radicals to take matters into their own hands and dole out "justice" to what they deem un-Islamic. (shs)
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There are no statistics on the prevalence of polygamy in Pakistan. According to the Institute of Policy Studies, an Islamabad-based nonprofit research organization, it is not widespread, but has been most common in rural areas in families without a male heir or in cases when men fell in love with another woman.
