A pair of bills passed by Pakistan's parliament today have made it illegal to throw acid on women or force them into prostitution. Progress!
The Anti-Women Practices Bill seeks to ban five (epithet) things that sometimes happen to Pakistani women, from forced marriage to deprivation of inheritance based on sex. It's also illegal for families to give women away in order to settle disputes or prevent their daughters from marrying. In addition, sexual torture is now illegal.
The second bill, which doesn't have as cool a name as the first bill but which seems like a good idea all the same, bars people from throwing acid or other corrosive substances at women. Women who had been deformed by acid attacks testified at the hearing. According to the Express Tribune, dozens of Pakistani women are injured every year in acid attacks. Now, men who attack women in that manner will be subject to prison terms up to 14 years long.
Both bills passed unanimously.
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