by HUSSAIN KASHIF
LAHORE: Outspoken opposition legislator Samina Khawar Hayat, on Thursday, shook the House with a startling declaration when she called on the Punjab government to amend the existing laws to allow men to marry for a second, third and fourth time without the consent of their first wife.
The PML-Q lawmaker went as far as saying that she had no problem if her husband, Khawar Hayat, were to marry again without her permission.
She was taking part in debate on an adjournment motion, moved by Sheikh Allauddin of the PML-Q dissidents, regarding the recruitment of unmarried women – over the prescribed age of 30 – in government departments. He asked the government to allot a special 18 percent job quota in the public sector for such women.
Both opposition and treasury lawmakers supported the motion and succeeded in convincing the chair to put up the issue for further debate on Monday. Speaking on the House floor, Allauddin argued that more than 17 percent of women in Punjab remained unmarried due to financial constraints or other social reasons, such as a lack of dowry, and that their number was increasing day by day. He also maintained that many affluent individuals spent millions of rupees on ‘mistresses’ and illicit affairs, but were too embarrassed to enter into wedlock with them.
Speaking on the issue, Samina Khawar Hayat said, “If there is no bar on them marrying again, all of men’s frustrations would be reduced, while the women would be able to salvage their honour and lead secure lives”.
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