'Fake rape': Pak woman gets 40 lashes

LAHORE: A Pakistani court has awarded 40 lashes and two years’ rigorous imprisonment to a 32-year-old woman under the controversial ‘Hudood’ law
for “falsely” accusing two men of raping her.

The charge levelled by Abida Bibi, the wife of a labourer from Layyah, located 175km from here, against the two men was proved to be false in a court.

A sessions judge said in a judgement issued on Thursday that Abida had levelled a false allegation of ‘zina’ or forcible fornication against the two men. She was therefore guilty under the provision of the Hudood Ordinance related to ‘qazf’ or false accusation of fornication, he said.

Abida had alleged that four men had entered her house in 2008 when her husband was away. She said two of them raped her.