Word Up to Pakistan

Pakistan votes to amend rape laws
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6148590.stm

Being in the middle of paper writing session and with a midterm/test tomorrow, I don't have much time to blog anything of much substance. But I must applaud the Pakistani National Assembly for ammending their outdated and outrageous rape laws. Under the old Shari'a based laws, there must be four male witnesses to the rape if it is to be considered as such, or else it is the woman who could be charged with adultery. I oppose the laughable notion that this new law, which would allow for alleged rapists to be tried in civil (as opposed to shari'a) courts, would encourage "free sex" or would "turn Pakistan into a "free sex zone".

I join President Musharraf's call for a moderate form of Islam, as opposed to the extremist jihadist variety that is sweeping across the Middle East, and further encourage the respect for the rights of women in the Middle East, where it is certainly lacking. I think that's something that almost everyone in Canada, regardless of partisan self-identification, can agree upon.