By Hojin Choi

Impunity Watch Reporter

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Asia Bibi, a Christian Pakistani woman, is taking her blasphemy case to the highest court of Pakistan. She was sentenced to death in 2010 for allegedly making derogatory expressions about the name of the Prophet Mohammed while having an argument with her Muslim co-workers. An intermediate level court rejected her appeal and upheld the decision.

Bibi is a mother of five and a resident of Punjab province in Pakistan. In 2009, she had an argument with her fellow workers. According to her, the workers refused to drink water in a bucket because she was not Muslim and because she had touched the bucket of water. She was arrested and accused under the blasphemy law which can impose death or life imprisonment according to Pakistan’s penal code. She had been jailed more than a year and sentenced to hang. In 2010, the Lahore High Court upheld the decision.

Bibi’s attorney, Naeem Shakir, told CNN that “there is no concrete evidence against Asia Bibi, and the courts are only relying on the statement of those two women, [the fellow workers.]” The attorney expected the Supreme Court’s relief for Bibi.

The blasphemy law has been the center of a huge controversy domestically and internationally in the wake of Bibi’s case. In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI officially requested Bibi’s release. A group of human rights activists filed a petition to the U.N. Human Rights Council for her. Human Rights Watch pointed out that the law largely targets religious minorities in Pakistan and it is often manipulated to interfere with personal disputes. In fact, Bibi has been insisting that her fellow workers falsely incriminated her based on lies because they simply did not like her.

Amnesty International described her case as “a grave injustice.” The spokesperson said that she “should never have been convicted in the first place.” Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia Pacific Director, David Griffiths, added “those who speak out against the laws face terrible reprisals. However, the blasphemy laws violate international law and must be repealed or reformed immediately . . .”

There have been additional victims related to Bibi’s case. Shabaz Bhatti, who was Pakistan’s Minister of Minority Affairs, had investigated Bibi’s case and concluded that her charges were based on personal and religious enmity followed by a recommendation to release her. Bhatti also held a position against the blasphemy law. In 2011, she was assassinated by the Taliban as “a message to all of those who are against Pakistan’s blasphemy law.” Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab province where Bibi is from, was killed by gun-shots from one of his own security guards. Accordingly, Taseer had opposed the blasphemy law and supported Bibi’s release.

Shakir, Bibi’s attorney, also expressed concerns about his own safety. During her trial, there were dozens of people who were against Bibi, and he did “feel threatened” even in the court.

Spokesperson of Pakistan’s Presidential Office, Farahnaz Ispahani, delivered an opinion that Pakistan remains committed to protecting religious minorities. “Pakistan is a nation of many faiths and religions, and all Pakistanis, no matter what their religion, are equal under the law,” he said. He added that the president will issue a pardon “if necessary” after carefully examining the Bibi’s case. However, two prominent Muslim leaders of Pakistan threatened to call nationwide protests if the president pardons Bibi, “if the president pardons [her], we will raise our voices across the country until he is forced to take his decision back.”

For more information please see:

CNN – Pakistan president urged not to pardon Christian woman – 24 November 2010

CNN – Condemned Christian woman to take blasphemy case to top Pakistani court – 20 October 2014

Amnesty International – Pakistan: Upholding blasphemy death sentence against Christian woman ‘a grave injustice’ – 16 October 2014

Newsweek – Christian Pakistani Women Sentenced to Death Will Take Case to Highest Court – 23 October 2014

By Hojin Choi

Impunity Watch Reporter

MANILA, Philippines – If people have a legal right to be together, they should be allowed to be legally separated. However, there is one country left in the world that has not yet granted a lawful right of divorce. In Philippines, legalization of divorce is still a controversial issue, and a recently filed bill ignited the nation’s dispute once more.

Divorce is not a new concept in Philippines, but the procedure for obtaining one is too restrictive for average individuals to proceed with. Filipino Congresswoman Luzviminda Ilagan is the representative of the Gabriella Women’s Party and a co-author of the divorce bill. The proposed bill “would be the empowerment of women, particularly the poor,” she said. The purpose of the bill is to promote efficiency within the divorce process by making it quicker and cheaper. It is expected to reduce 30-40% of the current costs of legal separation or annulment.

In Philippines, 28% of its total population is classified as “extremely poor.” These people live off less than $1.25 a day. About 40% of the population survives on a meager $2 each day. Therefore, as people need at least $4,000 to end their marriage legally, most people of low-income have no means to get divorced.

Paolo Yap, a graphic designer in Manila, told the Washington Post that he needed $6,700 to hire a lawyer for counseling in his divorce issues, and he eventually dismissed the lawyer because there would be additional costs, at least twice as much. “You know, it’s only about [$2,000 – $3,000] to hire a hit man to kill your spouse” in Philippines, he added as a joke.

Another barrier to the divorce process is the nation’s religious background. Divorce had been legal in Philippines until the enactment of the 1949 Civil Code. Professor Solita Monsod, from the University of the Philippines, explained that the legal prohibition was based on religious grounds. “It is because of a very powerful and conservative church hierarchy, and the dominance of very conservative segments of the Catholic laity,” he said.

The Catholic Church in Philippines officially denounced the bill. “We are opposed to legislation which would enable the state to break the marriage bond so that the couple can each remarry,” said Bishop Teodoro C. Bacani Jr. He also expressed a unique view toward domestic abuse cases. When there is a violent husband who abuses his wife and when divorce is legally allowed, then the man “is free to marry another woman and continue the abuse.” He argued that people could choose to be separated instead of getting a legal divorce.

The law of Philippines is more generous to people who observe other religions in terms of divorce. For example, the law allows legal divorce to Muslims, who constitute 11% of the population.

A number of news media outlets pointed out problems relating to Filipino workers abroad. The Philippines government encourages people to work overseas and forces them to live apart from their family. 70% of those workers are female. Therefore, the women in Philippines, especially who have low or no income, are more vulnerable in the current legal system.

Even though the bill has support in the Congress, it also faces strong opposition. Congressman Elpidio Barzaga Jr. insisted that a strong family makes a strong society, and the strong society will lead to a strong nation.

“We can have this only if there are laws that solidify and strengthen it,” Barzaga announced in opposition to the bill. He also added that “marriage is not merely a personal contract between husband and wife, it is a social institution which public policy cherishes and protects.”

For more information please see:

The Washington Post – World’s last legal ban on divorce doesn’t keep Philippines couples together – 10 October 2014

CNN – The fight to make divorce legal in the Philippines – 6 October 2014