October 31, 2025
By Iqra Manzoor
LAHORE
Four years after the passage of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act, 2021, the provincial government has yet to operationalize key mechanisms envisioned under the law, particularly the district-level committees tasked with addressing cases of domestic abuse and ensuring timely redress for survivors.
A law stalled by bureaucratic delays
The landmark legislation, introduced by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmaker Nighat Orakzai, was meant to provide a structured legal framework for the protection of women facing violence at home. It required the establishment of district protection committees across the province, mandated to monitor and respond to domestic violence cases.
According to the law, each committee was to be chaired by a female member of the provincial assembly (MPA), and in districts without women legislators, the Deputy Commissioner was to assume the role. However, bureaucratic hurdles and procedural delays within the Social Welfare Department have reportedly hindered the process since 2021.
While the provincial government formally notified the formation of these committees earlier this year, implementation challenges persist. The ongoing political uncertainty in the province has further slowed progress, according to officials and rights activists.
‘Political uncertainty and capacity issues hampering implementation’
Chairperson of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Commission on the Status of Women (KPCSW), Dr. Sumaira Shams, told Voicepk that bureaucratic inefficiency and political instability have been the key causes of delay.
“The issue is unpredictability, political uncertainty is one of the causes behind delays in implementing the Domestic Violence Act,” she said. “Being policymakers, laws are made in the assembly, but the bureaucratic machinery is responsible for execution. Unfortunately, there are capacity issues, especially in the Social Welfare Department. Officers need to be pushed to work, and even after repeated stress, they still make blunders in implementation.”
Misinterpretation of law adds to confusion
Dr. Shams added that the department misinterpreted the law’s provisions regarding the appointment of committee heads.
“The law stated that if a female MPA was available in a district, she would head the committee, but it was not compulsory. They interpreted it for convenience, making the process unnecessarily complicated,” she explained. “Since PTI has fewer female MPAs in the current assembly, some have been assigned to districts other than their own, which further hampers functionality. This is a bureaucratic failure.”
She also pointed out overlapping mandates and confusion among various committees working on women’s protection issues.
“District protection committees and district commission committees have been linked together, while district women committees are still not being formed. In some cases, secretaries of district protection committees have been made chairpersons of district commission committees, which is creating more administrative confusion,” Dr. Shams said.
‘Structural flaws in the law itself’
Rights activist and former Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ombudsperson Rukhshanda Naz also criticized the structural design of the Act, saying that assigning MPAs as committee heads has created both administrative and practical challenges.
“The KP Domestic Violence Act has a structural flaw, every committee being chaired by an MPA makes little sense,” she told Voicepk. “There is chaos in how legislation is conceived and implemented in KP. This is the only province where elected representatives are inserted into commissions and committees where they don’t necessarily belong. It mirrors issues seen elsewhere, for example, senators chairing child rights commissions, which only adds to confusion.”
Naz highlighted that the recent committee notifications have compounded these problems.
“Some female MPAs have been assigned to chair three districts at once. There’s no conceptual clarity about the purpose of these committees, whether among those drafting the legislation or those implementing it,” she said. “If an MPA from Nowshera is assigned to oversee cases in Lakki Marwat, how can she effectively manage cases of domestic violence from another district?”
She added that this model, inspired by India, has already proven ineffective there.
“This structure was adopted from India, where it failed to function effectively. Women’s movements in India have long criticized these committees as symbolic rather than practical,” Naz said. “The Social Welfare Department bears responsibility for these failures. It’s already scattered and overstretched, lacking the administrative strength and capacity needed for proper implementation.”
‘Law exists only on paper’
Echoing similar concerns, Saima Munir, Provincial Manager of the Aurat Foundation, said that the problem lies not only in forming committees but also in the overall lack of implementation and awareness of the law.
“The creation of district protection committees is just one part of this law, but the Act as a whole has not been implemented anywhere in the province,” Munir told Voicepk. “A few months ago, a session judge in Swat questioned why complaints were not being registered under the Domestic Violence Act despite its existence. Even when domestic violence cases are reported, they’re registered under other laws, not this one.”
Police lack awareness of the law
Munir emphasized that lack of awareness within the police force has also obstructed the law’s enforcement.
“The police often don’t even know that a law specifically addressing domestic violence exists,” she said. “The muharar registering the FIRs has no knowledge of the relevant sections. Training and sensitization of police officials are crucial, along with public awareness campaigns to ensure survivors can actually benefit from the law.”
Experts call for political will and capacity building
Experts agree that without capacity building, coordination between departments, and stronger political will, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Domestic Violence Act will remain a paper law rather than an effective protection mechanism for women.