Age-old discriminatory customs are not uncommon in Pakistan, where a three-man village jury can allow a landlord to rape a woman to take revenge, and a whole tribe can be forced to flee its village if a woman dares to marry outside the tribe.
Likewise, a lawyer in a rural village in this South Asian country can be beaten for hours, then paraded naked through the streets for speaking out on behalf of women who are suffering, after which police refuse her request to file a report on the incident.
Working against this backdrop of blatant human rights violations, it is not surprising that President Gen Pervez Musharraf feels proud of his efforts to curb abuses, especially those efforts aimed at improving the lot of Pakistani women.
At a human rights conference held in the capital in May, for instance, he sought to build on this record by announcing the establishment of an independent commission -- the National Commission for Human Rights -- that will be empowered to scrutinise current laws and recommend reforms.
Among the legal reforms Musharraf called for was a law banning honour killings, which still occur even though they are illegal. He said a legal ban on honour killings would strengthen the government's efforts to eliminate this ''intolerable practice''.
Far more contentious, however, is his call for a broad, public debate on a series of controversial Islamic laws in Pakistan called the Hudood Ordinances, in which the newly formed human rights commission is expected to play an active role.
Supporters of the laws, which supporters say are based on an interpretation of the Koran, have vowed to block any attempt to amend or rescind them. However, some opponents question whether Musharraf will back his rhetoric with action and whether the commission will be effective in helping him do so.
The Hudood Ordinances have been a bone of contention between women activists and the government since they were promulgated in 1979 by former military dictator Zia-ul-Haq.
They cover a range of crimes and apply to Muslims and non- Muslims alike. Among the most controversial provisions is the requirement that a woman must have four male witnesses to prove rape, or face a charge of adultery, a state offence.
Overturning the Hudood Ordinances is not ''just an NGO issue or of a group of liberal women who are against anything Islamic, as is so commonly believed,'' said Nuzhat Shireen of the Aurat Foundation, a women's support organisation. ''It is a national issue, one which affects every Pakistani, and should be taken seriously.''
''It all seems too good to be true, but now he should move from rhetoric to action. Time for delivering speeches is over,'' added Shireen, who believes ''the time is right to mount pressure on the parliamentarians, the legislators and the politicians''.
Anis Haroon, director of the Aurat Foundation, said that instead of criticising or doubting Musharraf's intentions, opponents of the Hudood Ordinances need to ''muster our strength and thrash out the issue once and for all''.
She is not without concerns, however. ''What if the president gives in to the religious lobby,'' Haroon asked, noting that critics have labelled Musharraf a ''man of half measures'' for backing down in the face of pressure in the past.
Ayaz Amir, a senior columnist for the English-language newspaper 'Dawn', is outright sceptical. ''What good will a commission -- national or otherwise -- do? There's no shortage of commissions in Pakistan. And various NGOs of course have made a fat killing out of the 'human rights' business. What do all these 'tamashas' (just a show) achieve?''
Asma Jehangir, lawyer and human activist, is equally unconvinced that the new commission will be effective. He sees its establishment as mere window-dressing, ''which has worked well for dictators to throw a bone to their Western patrons''.
Maulana Fazlur ul-Rehman, secretary-general of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), a six-party Islamic alliance in parliament, claims that Musharraf is under pressure from the west.
He said the alliance will block any effort to repeal or alter the 25- year-old laws, a vow echoed by MMA president Qazi Hussain Ahmed, who asserted, ''The MMA will not allow anyone to change Islamic laws.''
The National Commission on the Status of Women (NSCW), a watchdog organisation revived by Musharraf in 2000, called for the repeal of the Hudood Ordinances last year, saying that otherwise women's status would remain unchanged. Retired Justice Majida Razvi, chairwoman of the NSCW, told IPS that while she welcomes the announcement of the new human rights commission, it needs to be ''given independence to work with an independent secretariat and should not be linked with any ministry''.
Without such independence, she said, may find itself in competition with others, as has happened in the case of the NSCW and the Ministry of Women Development.
Justice Razvi is mindful of the hurdles Musharraf faces in moving down a progressive path. ''Since Hudood Ordinances were given umbrella protection under Article 270 A of the Constitution to repeal these laws, in my opinion, the government would need a two-thirds majority,'' she said.
''And, it is difficult to say whether it will be able to get that strength as the religio-political parties, who had been supporting the government until now, will not extend help on this subject,'' Razvi added.
Uzma Noorani of Women Action Forum questions why Musharraf, who also serves as the nation's military chief, does not just take unilateral action to overturn the Hudood Ordinances.
Alluding to the president's recent statement that being a military man has at times facilitated his efforts to empower women, she asked: ''When one man in uniform can bring in these ordinances without debate, why can't the other repeal it the same way?''