Who are the Pakistani group proposing to 'lightly beat' women?

A Pakistani group has come under fire for drafting a women's protection bill that suggests a husband can "lightly beat" his wife to keep her in line. What is this body and does it have any real power? The BBC's M Ilyas Khan explains.
It is called the Council of Islamic Ideology
Created by a military government in 1961, the Council of Islamic ideology (CII) is a 20-member constitutional body that advises the government on religious aspects of the law and society - but its recommendations are not binding.
The constitution says CII members should be "well-qualified". It specifies that the council should have at least two retired judges, four members with a minimum of 15 years of experience in Islamic research and teaching, and that members should have an "understanding of the economic, political, legal or administrative problems of Pakistan".
In practice though, this definition has been stretched to include men from religious pressure groups whose careers have been limited to administering or teaching in religious seminaries where contemporary knowledge is looked down upon.
So many of the CII's proposals have not been taken seriously by leaders.

The proposal to 'lightly beat' women
No stranger to controversy, the CII has faced unprecedented criticism as a result of the draft women's protection bill.
Portions of the draft leaked to the media recommend a husband should be allowed to "lightly" beat his wife if, among other things, she refuses to dress properly or turns down overtures for sexual intercourse.
It also prohibits female nurses from taking care of male patients, and bans the presence of women in receptions held for visiting foreign dignitaries.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah rejected the proposals, saying: "Islam does not allow any violence, whether against women or children."
Lawyer and human rights activist Asma Jahangir told Geo TV that the proposals amounted to "the humiliation of women".
The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan termed the proposals "ridiculous", and recommended the abolition of the CII.
So why did they come up with the recommendations?
The CII proposals were a response to a women's protection law passed by the Punjab government in March.
That law wanted to make it easier for female victims of domestic violence to report abuse, and introduced procedures to keep the perpetrator away from the victim until the dispute was resolved.
The CII was opposed to the law, and declared it un-Islamic.
The Punjab government has delayed enacting the law - even though the CII's rulings are not binding.
The council has been issuing rulings for decades - with mixed results
No stranger to controversy, the CII has faced unprecedented criticism as a result of the draft women's protection bill.
Portions of the draft leaked to the media recommend a husband should be allowed to "lightly" beat his wife if, among other things, she refuses to dress properly or turns down overtures for sexual intercourse.
It also prohibits female nurses from taking care of male patients, and bans the presence of women in receptions held for visiting foreign dignitaries.
Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah rejected the proposals, saying: "Islam does not allow any violence, whether against women or children."
Lawyer and human rights activist Asma Jahangir told Geo TV that the proposals amounted to "the humiliation of women".
The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan termed the proposals "ridiculous", and recommended the abolition of the CII.
So why did they come up with the recommendations?
The CII proposals were a response to a women's protection law passed by the Punjab government in March.
That law wanted to make it easier for female victims of domestic violence to report abuse, and introduced procedures to keep the perpetrator away from the victim until the dispute was resolved.
The CII was opposed to the law, and declared it un-Islamic.
The Punjab government has delayed enacting the law - even though the CII's rulings are not binding.
The council has been issuing rulings for decades - with mixed results

http://bbc.in/1P0DfDp

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