Is that why they hate us, it should be considered adultery?
In a setback for women's rights in Pakistan, the ruling party in Islamabad has caved in to religious conservatives by dropping its plans to reform rape laws.
Statutes known as the Hudood ordinances, based on sharia law, currently operate in Pakistan. They require a female rape victim to produce four male witnesses to corroborate her account, or she risks facing a new charge of adultery.
.... The Hudood ordinances were enshrined in Pakistani law in 1979 by General Zia ul-Haq in an attempt to appease the country's powerful religious elite following his military coup.
They have been routinely criticised by local and international rights groups.
Previous governments under Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif have tried to repeal the laws but failed.
.... Most women refuse to report a rape for fear they will be treated as a criminal.
Under current laws, a victim risks courting punishment if she reports a rape allegation as the Hudood ordinances criminalise all extra-marital sex.
A woman who fails to prove that she was raped could then be charged with adultery under the same legislation.
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