Pakistan: Man cuts off wife's lips and nose; police refuse to register a case

22.12.11

Pakistan: Man cuts off teenage wife's lips and nose; police refuse to register a case against him - Jihad Watch: As this story notes, resistance to stronger legislation against domestic violence has come from "religious parties" -- that is, those who will tolerate no limitations on the reach of Islamic law. Moving against domestic violence threatens to criminalize what Allah made lawful: the principle that a man can hit (yes, hit) a woman in his household from whom he fears disobedience (Qur'an 4:34).

Does the Qur'an say to disfigure one's wife with a razor? No. But this case is a consequence of the culture of tolerance toward and defense of domestic violence: the husband clearly felt he was justified in this act, and liked his odds of getting away with it.

Most tellingly, if he were simply hitting his wife, it would not have made the news. "Man chops off wife's nose and lips," from Agence France-Presse, December 19: