Lahore, February 26: Lawmakers in Punjab are in the final stages of drafting a landmark Men Appeasement Bill, the first of its kind in the world.
Campaigners have praised the draft for a number of innovative clauses, especially provisions that establish male-run Training Centers for women accused of extreme acts of insubordination, such as saying the word “No.”
According to its sponsors, the Appeasement Bill aims to preserve the long-standing tradition of women being taken for granted by men, which is fast being eroded after the passage of women’s protection legislation in Punjab.
Speaking about the dangers of protecting women from violence, PTI’s Punjab President, Chaudhry Sarwar predicted a grim outcome for communities of underserved males. “What about the millions of able-bodied men lounging on charpoys?!” he questioned. “They won’t serve themselves now, will they?”
According to a recent study, implementation of the Women Protection Bill Bill is likely to have an adverse impact on the size of the male ego and the roundness of homemade chapattis. The Bill will also disproportionately affect the wellbeing of men whose primary source of income is seizing the earnings of their wives.
Some lawmakers have called for removal of unnecessary protections in the Women Protection Bill since women have already been provided with enough rights in Pakistan. “Luckily, we live in a society that provides women with the inalienable right to speak when spoken to,” said Jamaat-e-Islami MNA, Ayesha Syed. “Will we now burden them with greater freedoms?!” she asked.
Others legislators have called for greater resistance to the agenda of women’s protection. The original sponsor of the Men Appeasment Bill, PML-N’s Zaeem Qadri urged men to stage a nationwide protest by refusing to enter their homes until women’s protection was repealed.
“If the women at home stop us from having our way with them, we can easily find others who will,” he said, while explaining that legal protections in the Bill did not extend to women of “ill repute”.
The Men Appeasement Bill is scheduled to be uploaded on the Punjab Assembly website for public comments. Comments on the Bill from women will also be entertained, provided that they are accompanied by No-Objection Certificates from the relevant mehrams.
