MUSLIM men should be allowed to “lightly beat” their wives if they refuse to have sex, fail to wear a hijab or don’t bathe, according to an Islamic constitutional body.

The powerful Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), based in Pakistan, put forwad the outrageous bill last week in response to progressive legislation giving women greater rights and protection in the province of Punjab.

“A husband should be allowed to lightly beat his wife if she defies his commands and refuses to dress up as per his desires; turns down demand of intercourse without any religious excuse or does not take bath after intercourse or menstrual periods,” the draft bill, which has not been finalised, says.

In the proposal, the council advises men to beat their wives if they refuse to dress as he wishes her to, talk to strangers or speak loudly. Wives may also be reprimanded if they give anyone money without the husband giving her permission first.

The council believes that after primary school, men and women should be taught separately.

Among the rulings, the bill says that female nurses shouldn’t tend to male patients and women shouldn’t work in advertisements.

The council has decided that men who force women to marry without the Koran should be sent to jail for 10 years. Those who make a Muslim women convert to another religion should be locked up for three years, according to the council.

But strangely, they say that women can enter politics and create a marriage contract, or ‘Nikah’, without her parents’ consent.

The council even provided guidelines on how to inflict the violence, NBC News reported.

“Hit her in areas where her skin is not too thick and not too thin,” CII leader Maulana Muhammad Khan Sherani told a press conference in Islamabad.

“Do not use shoes or a broom on the head, or hit her on the nose or eyes. Do not break any bones or cut her skin or leave any marks. Do not hit her vindictively, but only for reminding her about her religious duties.”

WHAT IS THE CII RESPONDING TO?

The Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence Bill redefines “violence” to include “any offence committed against a woman” including things like domestic or emotional abuse, stalking or cybercrimes.

The bill, which was passed in February, also provides for a universal toll free help line for the women, and establishes district protection centres and residential shelters under a phased program. It also allows courts to order a GPS tracker installed to monitor a defendant’s movements.

The CII, formed in 1962 to advise parliament on the compatibility of laws with Sharia, has previously spoken out against the bill.

The council’s recommendations are non-binding, and it has drawn widespread criticism in the past for other rulings — including in 2013, when it suggested making DNA inadmissable evidence in rape cases, instead calling for the revival of an Islamic law that makes it mandatory for a survivor to provide four witnesses to back their claims.

The CII chairman said the latest bill is still being drafted.

“Islam does not allow violence against women,” he said. “There may be a dispute between husband and wife but that is something separate from torturing wives.”

Govt of Punjab held a briefing session with ulema abt the landmark Punjab Protection of Women against violence bill. pic.twitter.com/RBTAAVXBmi — Govt Of The Punjab (@GovtOfPunjab) March 12, 2016

DRAFT BILL SPARKS OUTRAGE

The country’s biggest and most influential newspaper, the English-language daily Dawn, published a satirical article with a list of things people could beat other than their wives — including eggs, the bottom of ketchup bottles, and the Michael Jackson hit Beat It.

The article was a rare example of the media mocking those claiming to speak in the name of religion in conservative Muslim Pakistan.

The draft was also slammed by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, which condemned its recommendations as “ridiculous” and called for the council of “zealots” to be disbanded.

“It is difficult to comprehend why anyone in his right mind would think that any further encouragement or justification is needed to invite violence upon women in Pakistan,” the HRCP stated.

The bill was met with derision on social media, with one Twitter user writing: “This body should be dissolved, preferably in acid.”

Women in conservative Pakistan have fought for their rights for decades, in a country where so-called honour killings and acid attacks remain commonplace.

Pakistani activist and Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai was shot in the face by a Taliban gunman in 2012 when she was returning from school. The militants targeted her because she advocated education for women.

Malala Yousafzai, Kailash Satyarthi Win Nobel Prize Malala Yousafzai, the 17-year-old education campaigner, and Indian children's-rights activist Kailash Satyarthi were awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Oslo Wednesday. Photo: Getty

— With The Sun.