Hadood (plural of hadd, Arabic for "punishments"), are four Law Ordinances that were ordered by General Zia ul-Haq of Pakistan on 10 February 1979, and passed by the Council of Islamic Ideology in Pakistan. The main purpose of the Hadood Ordinances is to Islamize the laws of Pakistan. The Hadood provide for stoning to death for unlawful sexual intercourse, even if consensual; amputation of hands for theft; and lashing for intoxication and gambling. The Hadood are based on the Qurʾan (the holy book of Islam) and Hadith (traditions of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam) the two sources of the shariʿa, or the Islamic law. Although no person has been so far stoned to death and no limb amputated in Pakistan, such punishments have been carried out in Saudi Arabia. The Federal Shariʿa Court of Pakistan, and the Shariʿa Bench of the Supreme Court have the authority to listen to appeals against convictions reached by the criminal courts working under the Hadood Ordinances. According to the Law of Evidence the testimony of one woman, unless corroborated by another woman or man, is not admissible in a court. This provision makes it extremely difficult for a victim of rape, as women have found themselves in jail for the "crime" of naming their attackers.
Further Reading
Amin, Dr. Muhammad (1989). Islamization of Laws in Pakistan. Lahore, Pakistan: Sang-e-Meel.
Mehdi, Rubya (1994). The Islamization of the Law in Pakistan. Richmond, U.K.: Curzon.
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