Journal of Islamic Studies 11 (1991) pp.

45-55
ISLAMIC LEGAL REFORM AND THE
STATUS OF WOMEN IN PAKISTAN
1
CHARLES H. KENNEDY
Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C., USA
The issue of the status of women has figured prominently in the policy
environment surrounding the implementation of Pakistan's Islamization
programme. Critics of Islamization have often focused their attention
on the alleged discriminatory effects of the programme on the rights of
women. Indeed, during the 1988 general election campaign Benazir
Bhutto promised to rescind the hudud ordinances. And, one of her first
acts after assuming office was to release all women convicts in Pakistan's
jails, save those who were convicted murderers.
2
As explained by the
then Minister of Justice, Aitzaz Ahsan, this action served to redress the
injustices meted out to women convicted under the terms of the hudud
ordinances. Benazir's case was strengthened during September 1989,
when a series of documentaries were broadcast on American and British
television and radio. Each of these documentaries focused on the rights
of women in Pakistan, each argued that the Islamization process discrim-
1
Most of the material for this paper was gathered under the auspices of the Fulbright-
Hays Programme (1984-85). Subsequently, support has been provided by the Archie
Fund for Facility Excellence of Wake Forest University; the Research and Publication
Fund of the Graduate School of Wake Forest University; and by the American Institute
of Pakistan Studies. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the Association for
Asian Studies annual convention, Washington DC (17-19 March 1989) and the Canadian
Political Science Association annual convention, Victoria B.C. (27-29 May 1990).
1
Daum, 4 December, 1988. It is uncertain how many women were affected by this
measure. The number of women convicts and/or prisoners in Pakistan is subject to
considerable dispute. A study completed by the Women's Division of the Government
of Pakistan in 1982 revealed that there were only 70 women convicts in all of Pakistan's
jails: Pervai2 Naeem Tariq, Female Crime in Rural and Urban Areas of Pakistan
(Women's Division, Islamabad, 1984). Conversely, the ABC Documentary "Veil of Dark-
ness' (September 1989) claimed that 'thousands of women remain accused, not convicted,
on the charge of vna" and that 'thousands have been arrested on xinff charges.' Inquiries
made by the author in early 1990 disclosed that there were approximately 300400
women prisoners in Pakistan's jails at that time; with one-third to one-half convicts.
Source: interviews with officials of Women's Division (Islamabad), Prisoner's Aid Society
(Karachi), and Pakistan Women's Lawyer Association (Karachi).

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46 CHARLES H. KENNEDY
inated against the rights of women, and each called for the repeal of
the hudud ordinances.
3
Nevertheless, Benazir's administration was
unable or unwilling to halt the process of Islamization in the state. The
official explanation is that the government's hands were tied as Benazir's
coalition government controlled far less support than the two-thirds
majority needed to amend Pakistan's constitution. It also must be noted
that the government took few, if any, administrative steps to slow the
pace of Islamization. In fact, several important issues pertaining to
Islamization, dormant during the latter days of the Zia regime, were
addressed by the Supreme Court during Benazir's tenure. Such findings
of the Supreme Court have expanded the scope and hastened the pace
of the process of Islamization in the state.
4
This paper presents evidence which supports the following points.
(1) The implementation of Islamic laws under Pakistan's Islamization
programme has not had a significantly adverse impact on the rights of
women. (2) Many of the charges levelled against the Islamization pro-
gramme have either misrepresented the relevant laws or exaggerated
the scope and pace of their implementation. (3) Nevertheless, the intro-
duction of Islamic laws in Pakistan has exacerbated existing social
inequalities in the state. Moreover, the political costs to Pakistan, both
domestic and international, have been great.
To demonstrate these contentions this paper will first examine two
interrelated sets of policies which have affected the rights of women:
the hudud ordinances; and gender-based testimony restrictions. These
have been the two most important and frequently discussed issues
bearing upon the rights of women in Pakistan, although in no way
exhaustive of all such issues. Throughout, the analysis will rely on case
law, and the legal interpretations of Pakistan's superior courts with
particular emphasis placed on the decisions of the Federal Shariat Court
(FSC). Secondly, the paper will examine the political and social costs
attendant on such legal reforms.
' Such documentaries distort the facts concerning the implementation of the Islamiz-
ation programme. For instance, the ABC documentary 'Veil of Darkness' claimed that
the badd penalty for adultery had been awarded eight times during 1989. In fact, the
hadd penalty for adultery has been awarded only four times since 1979 by the district
courts, and in all such instances the penalty has been set aside by the FSC. Also erroneous
is the claim made in the same documentary that 'Pakistan law required four eyewitnesses
for the conviction of rape.' (See discussion below.)
* For instance, the Court ruled in Federation of Pakistan v. Gul Hasan Khan All-
Pakistan Legal (PLD) 1989 SC 633 that provisions in the Pakistan Penal Code pertaining
to bodily hurt (murder, manslaughter, etc.) were un-Islamic. Also, in Qazalbash Waqf
v. Chief Land Commissioner, Punjab PLD 1990 SC 99 the Court found that Zulfikar
Ah' Bhutto's land reforms of 1972 and 1977 were repugnant to Islam.

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ISLAMIC LEGAL REFORM 47
HUDVD ORDINANCES
On 10 February 1979, Zia al-Haq promulgated four ordinances, collect-
ively referred to as the 'Ipudud ordinances' which were crafted to make
significant revisions in Pakistan's criminal law system. Namely, revisions
were made in criminal statutes bearing upon sex-related crimes (zina
1
)
and theft. In addition, new laws were introduced through the vehicle
of the ordinances bearing on prohibition and qadhf (the wrongful
imputation of zina').
5
In keeping with the Islamic intent of the
ordinances, each established distinctions between hadd crimes (crimes
expressly defined in the Qur'an and Sunna), and ta
l
ztr crimes, both in
regard to punishments and evidentiary requirements.
Of particular relevance to this study, the overwhelming majority of
cases tried under the ipudud ordinances have fallen under the rubric of
the zina' ordinance.' The zinc? ordinance specifies ten separate sex-
related crimes.' Of these crimes, two have drawn most of the attention
of women's rights activists: adultery/fornication (section 10[2]), and
rape (section 10[3]).
Adultery/fornication
Critics of the former provision have argued that the enforcement of an
adultery/fornication law discriminates against women because unmar-
ried pregnant women or women who give birth to illegitimate children
would be/have been singled out for punishment under the law while
men (equally 'guilty') would not be charged/would be set free owing
to lack of evidence.' This argument was given credence and became
politicized through the tragic case of Safia Bibi.
' The Offences Against Property (Enforcement of Hudud) Ordinance, PLD 1979
Central Statutes 44; the Offence of Zma" (Enforcement of Hudid) Ordinance, PLD 1979
Centra] Statutes 51; The Offence of Qadbf (Enforcement of Hudud) Ordinance PLD
1979 Central Statutes 56; and The Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order PLD 1979
Central Statutes 33.
' Charles H. Kennedy, 'Islamizarion in Pakistan: Implementation of the Hudud
Ordinances,' Asian Survey xxxiii, 3 (March 1988), 309-10.
7
Adultery/fornication; rape; kidnapping; sodomy; enticement; attempted rape; abet-
ment of xinS crime; hadd adultery/fornication; deceitful marriage; and conspiracy to
engage in prostitution.
* See for instance, Anita Weiss, 'Implications of the Islamizarion Program for Women',
in Anita Weiss, ed., Islamic Reassertion in Pakistan (Syracuse University Press, Syracuse
1986), 100-1; Zia's Law: Human Rights under Military Rule in Pakistan (Lawyer's
Committee for Human Rights, New York, 1985), 98-9; and Khawar Muratai and Farida
Shaheed eds., Women of Pakistan: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back? (Zed Books,
London, 1987), 100.

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48 CHARLES H. KENNEDY
Safia Bibi,' a severely myopic, unmarried twenty-year-old woman
gave birth to a child in July 1982. After the birth Sana's father lodged
a complaint charging her with ziru?. Subsequently Safia testified that
Maqsood Ahmed was responsible for the pregnancy as he had raped
her nine months earlier. A case was registered by the police against
both Safia and MaqsoodSafia for fornication and Maqsood for rape.
In July 1983, the case was heard by Chaudry Mohammed Aslam, the
Additional Sessions judge, Sahiwal. He ruled that there was insufficient
evidence linking Maqsood with the charge of rape, and that Safia's
testimony was self-exculpatory and accordingly inadmissable. He sen-
tenced her under section 10(2) of the zinS ordinance to three years
imprisonment, 15 stripes, and imposed a fine of Rs. 1000.
Before the sentence could be carried out accounts of the case appeared
in Pakistan's newspapers and news magazines, and in the international
press. Such accounts exaggerated the facts of the case. It was reported
that Safia Bibi had been awarded stripes (this punishment was never
carried out as her case was immediately appealed); that she was only
thirteen years old; that she was wholly blind; and that she had been
the victim of a multiple rape by Maqsood and other members of his
'landlord' family (Maqsood's family owned less than two acres of land).
It was also argued that Safia Bibi's case was typical of the courts'
interpretation of the zina' ordinance:
zma' can only be committed by two persons, male and female. But whereas the
female accused is being convicted, the male counterpart, who has contributed to
the crime and has often forced or cajoled the woman, goes free. This is causing
panic in society and making women vulnerable to terror. In a number of cases
complaints of rape are not filed anyway due to social taboos and the law and
order situation. Now the zinS ordinance is making the riling of complaints of
rape even more dangerous and problematic for the female victim.
10
On the basis of such publicity, the Federal Shariat Court called for the
case (a criminal appeal had already been filed) and set Safia Bibi free
pending appeal. In December, the Federal Shariat Court heard the case
and ruled that the trial judge had erred in disallowing Safia Bibi's
statement that she had been raped. Setting aside the conviction the
court found that under SharFa 'if an unmarried woman delivering a
child pleads that the birth was a result of a commission of rape upon
her, she cannot be punished.'"
The account that follows is based upon the complete FSC file of Safia Bibi v. State,
Cr. appeal 123/1/83. As of March 1990, this case has not been reported in Pakistani law
journals.
10
Rashida Patel, hlamisation of Laws in Pakistan? (Faiza Publications, Karachi,
1986). 48.
" Safia Bibi, FSC Cr. appeal 123/1/83, 7.

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ISLAMIC LEGAL REFORM 49
This decision merely reiterated a well-established precedent of the
FSC's interpretation of the zina
1
ordinance. Namely, in the case of birth
or the pregnancy of an unmarried woman and in the absence of circum-
stantial or corroborative evidence proving wilful zinc? 'doubt should go
with the claimant'." Similarly, the Federal Shariat Court has also ruled
that the conditions for zina" are not proven if a married woman gives
birth to a child when the woman's husband is in jail during the likely
period of conception,
1
* nor are the conditions for arts' met if a woman
gives birth to a full-term child shortly after marriage.
1
* Further, the FSC
has also found that evidence of an unmarried woman's abortion does
not constitute proof of zina''
15
nor does the registration of an illegitimate
birth."
In sum, proof of zina' is dependent upon direct evidence of sexual
intercourse committed by a man and a woman, not validly married to
one another, and 'wilfully' committed by one or both of the partners.
17
Proof of zina' can also be determined by a confession. But, such confes-
sions must be: (a) free of duress; (b) based upon legal council; (c) made
by an individual neither physically handicapped nor insane; and (d)
repeated on four separate occasions.
11
The wholesale application of such legal precedents is borne out by
an examination of sentencing under the terms of the zina' ordinance,
controlling for gender. If the implementation of section 10(2) was
discriminatory to women one would expect that there would be more
women convicted under this provision than men. The opposite is the
case. Of those convicted under the terms of 10(2) in district courts and
in the FSC, 56% and 70% respectively are men.
1
' Therefore, to the
extent that gender bias is present in the implementation of this provision
of law, it favours women.
Rape
Also drawing fire from critics of the hudud ordinances have been the
rape provisions of the zina' ordinance. Section 10(3) of the zinS
11
See for example Zareena v. State, FSC Cr. appeal 12/1/83; Mubarik Ali v. State
PLC 1984 55; Rafaqat Bibi v. State PLD 1984 FSC 39; Zubaida Begum v. State PLD
1986 FSC 268.
11
See for example Azmat Khan v. State PLD 1982 FSC 4; and Niamet Bibi v. State
PLD 1984 FSC 17. In the latter case the petitioner's husband had been in jail for four
years in Iran. The FSC ruled that 'reasonable doubt' existed because he 'could have
escaped and returned to prison without detection.'
14
Sakina v. State PLD 1981 FSC 320.
u
Siarii v. State PLD 1984 FSC 122; Akhtar v. State FSC Cx. appeal 41/1/84.
" Itebar Jana v. State FSC Cr. appeal ?/I/83.
17
Sukhan v. State FSC Cr. appeal 5/1784.
" Bakhan v. State PLD 1986 FSC 274.
" Kennedy, 'Islamization in Pakistan . . . ' (1988), 313; see Table.

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50 CHARLES H. KENNEDY
ordinance replaced section 375 of the Pakistan Penal Code. The dispute
concerns whether the new law adequately protects the rights of women.
Critics contend that: (a) the testimony restrictions for hadd convictions
(four adult male witnesses) preclude rape convictions;" and (b) that
women do not bring charges of rape against their assailants because
they fear being countercharged for ana
0
.
11
Neither contention is sup-
ported by relevant case law.
First, the superior courts have consistently ruled that the criminal
charge of rape (ta'ztr) can be proven based upon the sole testimony of
the victim providing that circumstantial evidence supports the allega-
tions." In this regard the courts have not departed in any significant
way from the standard of proof that applied to section 375 of the
Pakistan Penal Code. Accordingly, the courts have awarded many con-
victions under section 10(3). The average punishment for such convic-
tions is quite severe: in District courts the mean sentence is twelve years
imprisonment, and twenty two stripes; in the FSC the mean sentence is
eleven years imprisonment and twenty stripes.
23
Second, as demonstrated above, the courts have consistently not
convicted women of zina' if there is 'reasonable doubt' concerning
whether the woman was forced to submit to the crime. Indeed, rather
than reducing the number of rape cases filed, the implementation of
10(3) has actually increased the incidence of the charge.
24
This is an
unintended (and perhaps perverse) consequence of the interplay of
provisions of the zina' ordinance. Women fearing conviction under
section 10(2) frequently bring charges of rape (10[3]) against their
alleged partners. The FSC finding no circumstantial evidence to support
the latter charge, but in possession of evidence proving zina', often
convict the male accused under section 10(2). Approximately thirty
percent of all convictions under section 10(2) originate as 10(3) cases."
In such cases the woman bringing the charges is exonerated of any
wrongdoing due to the 'reasonable doubt' rule.
n
Weiss, 'Implications of the Islamization Program' (1986), 100. Mumtaz and Shaheed,
Women of Pakistan (1987), 98.
11
Lawyer's Committee, 98.
" For example see Muhammad Ramzan v. State PLD 1982 FSC 151; Ghulam Rasul
v. State PLD 1982 FSC 109. When no corroborating evidence is produced supporting
the claim of the victim, the superior courts have consistently overturned rape convictions,
or reduced charges to adultery/fornication10(2). See Ghulam Muhammad v. State
PLD 1984 FSC 72; Mhd. Iqbal v. State PLD 1983 FSC 9; and Jumma Khan v. State PLD
FSC 207.
u
Kennedy, 'Islamiiation in Pakistan . . . ' (1988), see Table, 312.
** Author's discussions with relevant lawyers and judges.
" Kennedy, 'Islamiiation in Pakistan . . .' (1988) see Table, 310.

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ISLAMIC LEGAL REFORM 51
Gender-based testimony restrictions
Again it is contended that a close examination of distinctions between
the value of evidence of men and women as sparked by the implementa-
tion of Zia's Islamization programme discloses more smoke than fire.
Much of the controversy and confusion stem from draft ordinances on
evidence," and qisas and diyat
17
proposed by the Council of Islamic
Ideology during 1980-84. Provisions within the draft ordinances pro-
posed that the testimony of women in most situations be equated with
one-half that of a man's. Such draft ordinances were highly publicized;
one was even published in the Gazette of Pakistan. Reaction to such
proposed legislation was swift and consistently opposed to the discrim-
inatory provisions against women. Indeed, Zia's government quickly
distanced itself from the Council's draft ordinances. Working through
the Law Commission (attached to the Supreme Court) and the Ministry
of Justice, the government encouraged the drafting of a far less radical
Qanun-i Shahada, and put qisas and diyat legislation on hold. In 1984,
the Qanun-i Shahada was promulgated by Zia. In regard to the testi-
mony of women it departed from the provisions of the Law of Evidence
Act of 1872 in only one significant particular." Article 17 of the new
law provides that:
(a) In matters pertaining to financial or future obligations, if reduced to writing,
the instrument shall be attested by two men, or one man and two women,
so that one may remind the other, if necessary, and evidence shall be led
accordingly; and
(b) In all other matters, the Court may accept, or act on the testimony of one
man or one woman or such other evidence as the circumstances of the case
warrant.
This article was substituted for article 134 of the 1872 Law of
Evidence which had stated: 'No particular number of witnesses shall in
any case be required for proof on any fact.'
Why article 17 was introduced into the new legislation remains
unclear. Most likely it was introduced as 'proof that the Qanun-i
Shahada had made significant departures from the 'un-Islamic' Law of
" Council of Islamic Ideology, Draft Ordinance, Islamic Law of Evidence (Printing
Corporation of Pakistan Press, Islamabad, 1984).
27
Council of Islamic Ideology, Draft of the Offences Against Human Body (Enforce-
ment of Qisas and Diyat) Ordinance, 1980. Published in Gazette of Pakistan Extraordin-
ary (13 December, 1980); Council of Islamic Ideology, Draft Ordinance Relating to the
Law of Qisas and Diyat, June 1981 (Printing Corporation of Pakistan Press, Islamabad,
1982).
" Based upon a clause by clause comparison of the Qanun-i Shahada Order, 1984 (X
of 1984) and The Evidence Act (1 of 1872).

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5X CHARLES H. KENNEDY
Evidence of 1872. The clause may also have been included in order to
maintain support from the
<
ulama
>
and the Council of Islamic Ideology.
In practice, the implementation of Article 17 has had at most a minor
impact upon the legal system of Pakistan. Article 17 has not had a
material bearing on any PLD-reported case brought before the High
Courts, the FSC, or the Supreme Court of Pakistan since its introduction
(1984-1989)." Nevertheless, Article 17 remains a major focus of criti-
cism, and Benazir called for its repeal during the 1988 election campaign.
Also deemed discriminatory towards women are gender-based stand-
ards of evidence in the budud ordinances. Proof for the imposition of
hadd penalties in each of the four ordinances excludes women's testi-
mony. Zina' liable to hadd requires four adult male witnesses; similarly,
hadd penalties for prohibition, property, and qadhf each require the
testimony of two adult male witnesses. In practice, such restrictions
have had only a minor impact upon the implementation of law in
Pakistan. As I have reported elsewhere,
30
there have only been a handful
of hadd cases brought before the District courts, and only two hadd
convictions (both property cases) have survived appeal before the Fed-
eral Shariat Court. Both of these were later overturned by the Supreme
Court.
31
In none of these cases were women material witnesses. Never-
theless, there is considerable sentiment within Pakistan's legal commun-
ity, as well as support from the Benazir government, for relevant
modifications in the hudud ordinances.
32
Rashida Patel, a prominent
female attorney, has challenged the gender-based evidence distinctions
of the hudiid ordinances in a series of Sharfa petitions before the FSC.
The Court partially rejected the petitions but the case has been appealed
to the Supreme Court.
33
" From the author' s review of relevant PLD indices.
10
Charles H. Kennedy, 'Islamization and Legal Reform in Pakistan, 1979-1989'.
Pacific Affairs, 63, 1 (Spring 1990), 62-77.
11
Ghulam Ali v. State PLD 1982 FSC 259, overturned by Ghulam Ah' v. State PLD
1986 SC 741. Zahid Iqbal v. State FSC Cr. appeal 163/1/82 was later overturned by the
Supreme Court, although as of July 1989 the case hat not been reported in Pakistani
law journals.
11
An excellent discussion of the testimony issue from a Qur' anic perspective is found
in Aftab Hussain, Status of Women in Islam (Law Publishing Co., Lahore, 1987),
242-349. Useful accounts of the political environment surrounding the issue is provided
by H. Minrges, A New Debate on 'Women and Islam' in Pakistan (Christian Study
Centre, Rawalpindi, 1984), 40-7; and Mumtaz and Shaheed, Women in Pakistan (1987),
esp. 123-42.
" Begum Rashida Patel v. Federation of Pakistan PLD 1989 FSC 95.

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ISLAMIC LEGAL REFORM J3
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL COSTS
So far it has been argued that the implementation of Zia's Islamization
programme had only minor deleterious effects on the rights of women;
and that many of the charges brought against it exaggerated the scope,
pace, and intent of Zia's legal reforms. But such an argument is only
part of the story. From a more general perspective we contend that the
Islamization programme proved politically costly to Zia's regime. Its
implementation also exacerbated class conflict in Pakistan as well as
provoking other social costs.
First, Zia's Islamization programme became a target of international
human rights organizations. Such groups focused their attention on two
alleged aspects of the programme: discrimination against women; and
'cruel and unusual punishments'. In regard to the latter, Pakistan's legal
system was charged with having imposed barbaric punishments, includ-
ing amputations, stoning to death, and arbitrary floggings. As was the
case with the women's rights issue, such charges were often exaggerated.
No officially-sanctioned stoning to death nor amputation has ever been
meted out in Pakistan. Nevertheless, the damage to Pakistan's interna-
tional image has been severe.
Second, the Islamization programme provoked considerable domestic
costs. From the introduction in 1979 of Zia's Islamic policies, political
opponents have taken square aim at them as they proved so easy a
target. The issues were technical and complex, subject as a consequence
to considerable distortion in the press and manipulation by relevant
politicians. Moreover, Zia's government was reluctant to openly counter
its opponents' charges, for fear that such denials would be construed as
an admission of the slow pace of implementation of his policies.
14
Whether one argues that the Islamization programme discriminated
against the rights of women or not, it is undoubtedly the case that the
implementation of the hudiid ordinances discriminated against Pakis-
tan's lower socio-economic classes. Those accused of hudiid crimes arc
for the most part employed in semi-skilled, unskilled, or menial jobs.
Between 1979-1986, 42% of the males accused were cultivators; 17%
common labourers; and most of the others were beggars, rickshaw
drivers, fruit-sellers, or servants. Over 95% of the accused women were
employed in the household. Of the accused, 75% dwell in rural areas.
The overwhelming majority of the accused are illiterate. Conversely,
very few middle-class individuals have been accused of hudiid crimes
less than 2%. A similar pattern holds for victims of such crimes."
M
For a more detailed argument see Kennedy, 'Islamizarion and Legal Reform in
Pakistan" (1990).
" Kennedy, 'Islamization in Pakistan . . . ' (1988), 313-5.

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54 CHARLES H. KENNEDY
It is also undoubtedly the case that the implementation of the hudud
ordinances has introduced a much used vehicle to express intra-family
and inter-family enmity. Most of the cases brought before the superior
courts dealing with hudud laws, in which women were principals, are
initiated on private complaints brought by the woman's father, brother,
former spouse, or mother. In such a situation the possibility of abuse
is great. Also, it is not uncommon for intcr-family grievances to result
in charges of zina' being brought against the relevant target of one's
enmity. Indeed, the reading of cases filed under the provisions of hudud
discloses that many of the cases brought before the courts lacked
substantive merit. The extraordinary rate of acceptance of appeals by
the FSC bears this observation out.
3
* Seemingly, such weak cases are
pursued in order to: (a) punish a disobedient daughter, son or other
relative; or (b) to harass or threaten an enemy. It is also very likely that
the mere threat of bringing charges under budud may exert a potent
form of social control.
Unfortunately, even if such suits are ultimately dismissed by the
courts at original or appellate levels the costs to those accused may be
quite severe. Obviously, those accused must bear the financial costs of
mounting a defence as well as suffering the emotional torment of facing
a lengthy prison term. Also, it is not uncommon for those accused of
hudud crimes to await their trial in jail. Although most of the offences
that fall under hudud are bailable, many of those accused cannot raise
sufficient funds to post bail, and many do not know their legal rights.
Moreover, in the context of Pakistan's traditional social structure, the
mere charge of zina" regardless of conviction, carries a significant stigma.
The consequences of the latter can be catastrophic for women.
A strong argument could be made that justice would be served by
actively and enthusiastically enforcing the qadhf ordinancedesigned
in part as a legal remedy against false charges of zina'. Curiously, the
courts have entertained very few qadhf cases, and they have rejected it
as a remedy for slander in overturned zinS cases except in instances in
which a hadd crime is alleged.
37
** Bakhtiar Said Muhammad v. The State PLD 1986 FSC 187. For the conditions of
a successful qadbf plaint see Abdul Rashid v. Safia Bibi PLD 1986 FSC 10.
17
In Begum Rashida Patcl v. Federation of Pakistan PLD 1989 FSC 95 the Court
directed that charges of zina' not liable to hadd (ta'ttr) not be designated as zina"
because, if so designated, failure to convict the accused could result in countercharges
of qadhf against the complainant.

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ISLAMIC LEGAL REFORM 55
CONCLUSIONS
This paper has sought to show that the relationship between women's
rights and Zia's Islamization programme is quite complex and does not
lend itself to easy analysis, nor snap judgements. Clearly, the perception
that Zia's programme significantly discriminated against women's rights
is fundamentally flawed. We contend that a more useful analysis of
Zia's Islamic policies should be cast in a broader context, taking into
account the social, political, and religious consequences of its imple-
mentation. In any case, the legacy of Zia's Islamic policies is likely to
persist in Pakistan for the foreseeable future. No government, regardless
of its ideological predisposition, will be able to dismantle the programme
without incurring considerable, and possibly fatal, political costs.

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