'Honour Killings' in Pakistan and Compliance of ... - Aurat Foundation

2. The ‘Zia’ Effect of Systematic
Discrimination against Women
As discussed above, women’s status in Pakistani society is considered as
secondary to men. They are expected to play the role of nurturer, the
mother, recognised and valued only for her reproductive capability. These
highly patriarchal views are steeped in the traditional culture of Pakistan.
However, these views were given massive support and formal support
during the presidency of General Zia ul Haq 2 . While such views were
always present, they were now perpetuated by the State through its
actions, institutions and through the law. These policies did not just
propagate and strengthen patriarchal beliefs in society, but also sent out
the message that they were ‘right’ and it was acceptable to treat women in
such a manner. The impunity granted to society’s treatment of women
thereafter further served to entrench such notions into the psyche of the
people in Pakistan with long lasting effects seen in different forms,
including violence against women and the treatment of women by the
legal system. The methods adopted by the State in this State sponsored
discrimination of women are discussed a little later.
As noted by Mumtaz and Shaheed 3 , it was not until the last few decades
that Pakistani women even conceived of their struggle as being against a
patriarchal system. These women had played a part in demanding greater
rights and concessions from within the existing system, believing that
achieving their own rights was a matter of ‘natural’ evolutionary process.
Until the Islamization period of General Zia ul Haq, which alerted women
across the country into taking note of the rights and freedoms that were
being taken away from them, women had not questioned how many of
2 Ibid
3 Ibid
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