Women's Rights in Pakistan

Something that's not getting a lot of traction in the press here (and I won't throw stones, it's probably something a simple as "Pakistan is far away" style thinking) but that should, is an upcoming vote on a bill to change Pakistan's laws concerning rape. Eteraz has the story.

The long and the short of it is this, currently a woman who is raped has to provide four male witnesses or she can be imprisoned or put to death for adultery. Though the new law wouldn't provide the level of protection and equality-before-the-law that we have in the West, it is an important and needed step in a theocratically leaning military dictatorship like Pakistan.

It has been cogently argued that the emancipation of women is the key to reforming Islam.

This issue deserves a lot more attention.