The death sentence that a district court handed down to Aasiya Bibi, a poor Christian woman in Punjab, is not the first of its kind except that this is the first time a woman has been so sentenced (but not the first time one has been so accused). Since the ‘blasphemy law’ was promulgated, there have been many such convictions – that the higher courts have always over-turned. District courts have also shown sense: I remember a woman district judge in Karachi acquitting Chand Barkat, a bangle seller who had been accused by a rival). However, vigilante violence (cold-bloodedly orchestrated by extremist organisations) has claimed the lives of some 20 charged under this law or publicly accused of this ‘crime’. Continue reading
Filed under: Blasphemy Laws | Tagged: 295-C, Aasia Masih, Aasiya Bibi, Ali Dayan Hasan, blasphemy law, chand barkat, Christians, discrimination, Gojra, HRCP, HRW, injustice, khatme Nabuhat, Lashkar, National Commission on the Status of Women Pakistan, NCSW, online petition blasphemy law, Pakistan, sectarianism | 3 Comments »
Journeys to democracy 