Evangelist Franklin Graham is speaking out
against proposed legislation in Pakistan that
would give men the right to beat their wives,
calling it proof that Islam intends to keep
women locked “behind a veil of horror.”
Pakistan’s Express Tribune reported last week that the 20-member Council of Islamic
Ideology, a constitutional body that advises the
Pakistani legislature about whether laws are
compatible with Islam, proposed a bill that
would permit husbands to “lightly beat” their
wives for defying them.
The bill claims that husbands should be
allowed to beat their wives if they reject their
demands for sexual intercorse without a
religious excuse, refuse to dress up when
asked, and if wives do not take a bath after
intercorse or menstral periods.
Additionally, the proposal finds that women
can be beaten for not wearing a hijab, talking
to strangers, giving money to people without
talking to their husbands first, and for
speaking loud enough that strangers can hear.
In order to instill fear into their wives, the
proposal advises husbands that using a “small
stick” is necessary, CNN reports.
Graham, the president of the Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse
humanitarian organization, took to Facebook on Tuesday to lambast the proposed law.
“The leader of the powerful Council for Islamic
Ideology in Pakistan just this week said a
husband should be allowed to ‘lightly beat’ his
wife,” Graham wrote. “According to them, that
is permissible if she defies his commands and
refuses to dress up per his desires, does not wear a hijab, interacts with strangers, speaks
too loudly, or declines other more personal
things. And get this — their proposal says
using only a ‘small stick’ is necessary to instill
fear.”
“Somehow that’s not very comforting, is it?”
Graham added. “Women of the world, Islam
wants to put you behind a veil of horror.”
Graham argued that while Islam tries to instill
fear into women, Christianity treats women
“with dignity and respect.”
“Jesus Christ elevated women, and if you put
your faith and trust in Him, He will never let you
down,” Graham added.
Graham, a frequent critic of Islam, also called
out the hypocrisy of liberal feminists like
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary
Clinton who refuse to speak out against the
abusive treatment of women in majority Muslim
nations like Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran and elsewhere.
“Where are the Gloria Steinems, the Bella
Abzugs, or even the Hillary Clintons, that call
themselves champions for women’s rights
when it comes to the teachings of Islam?”
Graham asked? “Why aren’t they screaming
about the way Islam treats women?”
Other proposals made by the Council of Islamic
Ideology would place other unfair societal
bans on women.
Under the proposed legislation, women would
be banned from receiving a co-education after
primary school. Women would also be banned
from participating in military combat. The
proposal would also ban female nurses from
serving male patients.
Even without the proposed law, Pakistani
women are often beaten and forced to submit
to their husbands. Women are often subjected
to honor killings, forced marriages, acid
attacks, child marriages and sexual abuse.
According to the World Economic Forum’s
Global Gender Gap 2014 report, Pakistan is the second lowest ranking country in the world for
gender equality.
Additionally, Pakistan is ranked as the sixth
worst country in the world for Christian
persecution, according to Open Doors USA’s
2016 World Watch List.
As many as 700 Christian women each year are
kidnapped, raped and forced into Islamic
marriages, according a 2014 study by Movement for Solidarity and Peace in Pakistan
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