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The History Hour: The Pakistani law that jailed rape survivors

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16/10/2021 GMT

The Pakistani law that jailed rape survivors

BBC World Service - The History Hour, The Pakistani law that jailed rape survivors

In the 1980s, a horrific rape case galvanised the women's rights movement in Pakistan

A shocking rape case in Pakistan in which the victim was found guilty, the rise of a fascist movement in 1960s Britain and how America’s abortion arguments led to murder.

Under legislation known as the Hudood Ordinances introduced in 1979, a nearly blind teenaged rape survivor was jailed herself for having sex outside marriage. In 1983 Safia Bibi was sentenced to three years imprisonment, 15 lashes and a fine. The verdict and the draconian punishment galvanised the women's rights movement in Pakistan. Also in the programme the terrible price paid by an abortion doctor in 1990s America,  the rise of a fascist movement in 1960s Britain plus the Saudi author who shook up Arabic fiction in the early 2000s and from 1987 how a baby stuck down a well in Texas gripped the world’s attention.

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