Day: June 8, 2012

Gulmina Bilal Ahmad

A country where a simple law on domestic violence cannot be passed because of the resistance put up by the so-called religious parties, says it all

Weddings are supposed to be occasions for celebration and joy; at least that was the case until now. Especially in our culture, they are colourful events where friends and family members meet and share the happiness of a holy matrimony. But now, I will have to think twice before rejoicing at any wedding. The law of the land in Kohistan, propagated by the mullahs, forbids this and the penalty is nothing less than death. Kohistan has been able to make headlines twice this year already and both times with a notorious aspect. First was February, when 18 Shia were shot dead in a sectarian target killing of horrendous proportions. Currently, the issue of a jirga handing down a death sentence to five women and two men for singing and dancing at a wedding has emerged. What is more perplexing about the situation is that due to an information black hole present in the area, varying accounts and statements are being presented. These range from denial of any such decree by the jirga to claims that the accused have already been executed.

Government again seems to be sitting on the sidelines as a mere spectator, waiting for something to happen. In the case of Kohistan, the ministries of human rights and women development seem to be numb. The apex court has taken notice due to the outrage created in the media and have ordered the women to be produced in court. Unfortunately, it might be too late for the people involved, especially women, caught in the eye of the storm. Government is finally sending a fact finding mission to the area and by the time this article is printed, perhaps the fate of the five women will be clear to the world. After watching the video, I fail to understand how the accused tarnished the images of their family. If someone is to be held responsible, it might as well be the person who uploaded the video on the Internet. Is honour only associated with women and are women only responsible for tarnishing it? Unfortunately, again I find that women are being specifically targeted and this is not an isolated event in Kohistan; many such examples can be found throughout society. Women are being led to the sacrificial altar for the sake of pretentious honour.

In fact, every day one may find news emanating from various parts of the country where women are being subjected to violence. In another corner of Pakistan called Pakpattan, far away from Kohistan, a father (if he deserves to be called that), clubbed his daughter to death in the name of honour. These and I believe many other stories, which do not make it to the news, illustrate the extent of gender-based violence. Actually, these so-called elders and religious clerics have tarnished the image of our country, our society and even our religion. The image which is being portrayed depicts our society to be consisting of barbarians, who have no regard for life. The decadent customs, lack of education and a male-dominated mindset have resulted in this deteriorated situation. A country where a simple law on domestic violence cannot be passed because of the resistance put up by the so-called religious parties, says it all. Countering the issue of domestic violence is considered to be promotion of ‘western culture in the Islamic state’. There is nothing Islamic about domestic violence, honour killings or any other form of violence, as is being portrayed by these mullahs. The teachings of Islam are quite opposite to what these Taliban apologists preach to their followers.

Honour killings, rape, domestic violence, forced marriages are all prevalent and during 2010, at least 8,000 cases on violence against women were reported. These are actually measures that are carried out by the local jirga and panchait as part of their justice system. As I have mentioned earlier, there are many such cases, which are brushed under the carpet and these have only been the number of reported cases. Most of the times victims and their families are reluctant to approach the justice system because of the taboos created in the society. A country where the democratically elected parliament is unable to address and counter the issue of domestic violence, how can a lonely victim ask for justice for the violence inflicted upon her? In fact, the absence and void of a fully functioning legal and justice system in various parts of the country contribute to the situation. The victim’s demands for her rights are also considered a part of the cultural imperialism where the local customs might be challenged. The women are being increasingly secluded; their representation in various professions and participation in the development of the country has remained at a minimum. There have been individual role models and success stories for women where they are pilots, police officers and represented in the parliament, but there is also a mammoth dark side where women are buried alive for violating local traditions.

Kohistan is only a single case that came into the limelight due to national and international media’s attention. We might not know the five women accused and perhaps, killed by their names, but they do have a face, which is being broadcasted to every household. Again, I would stress, what about the several other such cases where victims remain unknown and have no name or face. The stories never surface because they are either not newsworthy or the families and the victims have accepted it as their fate. The media may give some of the victims an identity, but in the end the responsibility lies with the pillars of the state for not only providing justice to these victims but also to prevent the occurrence of such acts further. Religio-political parties have taken the entire system as a hostage and are manipulating the issue of women rights. The citizens will have to create the required pressure on their elected representatives so they may take the initiative on the challenges facing women.

The writer is a development consultant and can be reached at coordinator@individualland.com

Daily Times

Those who issued murder verdicts against Kohistani women must be given exemplary punishment.

The Supreme Court hearing into the alleged killing of five women in Kohistan by a tribal jirga for the ‘crime’ of singing and dancing at a wedding in the alleged company of men has become quite the controversy. Till recently, the Court had been unable to verify whether the women were killed or not, or whether the jirga ever gave the order in the first place. The fault here does not lie with the Court, which has been pursuing the case vigorously in order to get the truth out of local officials. It is, in fact, these officials who are to blame since they claimed that the women were not killed but retreated into stony silence when asked if they had seen them.

This stony silence on the part of the officials prompted the Supreme Court into sending a fact-finding mission to determine if the women had indeed been killed. It has been discovered that the mission was able to meet two of the girls in the Sertay village of Kohistan. Thankfully, they bore no signs of torture and were reported to have been “happy with their families”. However, it is important to confirm the fate of the other three girls as soon as possible as one of the brothers of the two men who were dancing with the five women in the video, had earlier insisted that the women had been killed on the orders of the jirga. Even if all the girls are ultimately found to be alive and safe, this case raises a lot of questions about the concept of ‘honour’ in our society. Dancing at weddings is a common Pakistani tradition and the idea that these women dishonoured their families by singing and dancing is a ridiculous assertion. For some reason, we have also decided that it is only women, and never men, who dishonour their families. Those who issued murder verdicts against these women must be given exemplary punishment.

It is also unacceptable that the remoteness of Kohistan and tribal tradition means that the writ of the state does not extend there. Jirgas exist outside the conventions of the law and if there is anyone who should be punished, it must be those who insist on conducting them. Each judgment of a jirga is inherently illegitimate. It is time to take action against this unjust and backward system of tribal justice and bring every Pakistani under the legitimate law of the state.

The Express Tribune

Ayesha Shahid

ISLAMABAD: A team sent to a village in Kohistan to determine the truth about five women who were reported to have been killed after being sentenced to death by a jirga for clapping at a wedding when two young men were dancing told the Supreme Court on Thursday that they were alive and safe.

The report of the team which met two of the five girls put serious doubts about claims of Mohammad Afzal, a brother of one of the men in mobile phone footage of the wedding.

Mr Afzal claimed the women had been killed on May 30 on the orders of a cleric who led the tribal jirga.

A reporter walked up to him before the hearing resumed at 4:30pm and said: “Your case is losing ground, you should start coming to terms with it.”

Mohammad Afzal is a soft spoken, firm and calm man with sharp cheekbones and features often seen in Kohistan. He has a shy smile that creeps up occasionally, but is suppressed quickly.

“I gave an exam to join the motorway police but I never wanted to join the Kohistani police — they treat everyone so badly,” he said in a frank moment.

Mr Afzal was working at a lawyer’s office after doing his BA from Mansehra Degree College two years ago. He court married a girl four years ago who he left back in Allai, Battagram, when he got caught in this case. “I am 100 per cent sure that the information provided to me about the murder of the girls is correct. I will ask the court to either get fingerprints of the girls or send a judicial body to meet them if they believe the report of the team is true,” he said with confidence.

Ms Riffat Butt, a member of the team, told the court: “The girls are alive and safe. We have met Amna and Shaheen, the remaining three live on another hill which was seven hours away so we were not able to reach them.

“When we landed, we did not know where to go, so we split in two teams and started walking. We walked for two hours and found that houses were empty because people only move there seasonally.

“Then we saw some men and explained the whole situation to them. They said they know the girls but simply refused to send them with us to Islamabad.”

The men took Riffat Butt and Sabeena Ayyaz, another member of the team, to the house of Amna and Shaheen. The father of the girls allowed the team to meet the girls after some hesitation.

“We put the pictures in front of them in which Amna identified herself and other girls,” Ms Riffat said.

The team recorded the conversation in a video, but that is for the eyes of the judges only by express permission of the girls’ father.

According to the team, they found the four people, who have been identified as witnesses to the murder by Mohammad Afzal. They all showed complete ignorance about the incident.

According to Amna, the video was not recorded at the wedding but at a private gathering where women and men came together in the presence of the boys’ mother.

“We are satisfied,” said the team members when asked about the proof they had found.

However, they emphasised that “the administration needs to meet the remaining three girls and ensure their safety”.

The Chief Justice ordered officials of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to make arrangements for another team of women to be sent to the area of Allai to find the remaining three girls (Basra, Begum Jan and Sareen Jan) by the next hearing on June 20.

Then the Chief Justice gave Mohammad Afzal one final chance to speak, and even before Mr Afzal could finish his objection, Justice Jawwad S. Khwaja dismissed him, “Afzal sahab, you have been taking us for a ride.”The firm Afzal seemed to disappear in the crowd as the court was adjourned.

Nisar Ahmad Khan adds from Mansehra: Kohistan DPO Abdul Majid Afridi, on his return from the village, told newsmen that the elders were unwilling to produce the girls in court but were ready to give assurances that they wouldn’t be harmed.

“The families and local elders, in accordance with culture and tradition of the area, are unwilling to produce the women in court but they reaffirmed their earlier stance that they are ready to give every sort of surety that they are alive and will be protected in future too,” said Mr Afridi.

The team members, who were stranded in Kohistan because of inclement weather on Wednesday, left Puttan for Ochar Nulla early in the morning on Thursday after pilots of three helicopters were given green signals. KP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain later joined them.

Mr Afridi said Mohammad Afzal wanted to settle scores of his tribe Salaykhail’s enmity with Azadkhail and wanted to seek asylum abroad.

“The women belong to Azadkhail tribe. Mr Afzal and his brothers first made their video and then tampered it to disgrace the rival tribe. The media also played a negative and irresponsible role by helping him to achieve his personal agenda,” he said.

Dawn

FAISALABAD: The Anti-Terrorism Court handed down 30-year imprisonment along with more than Rs1 million fine to an accused on Thursday for throwing acid on a woman in Shorkot.

The ATC Judge, Ishtiaq Ahmed, concluding the case slapped 14-year imprisonment with Rs1 million fine under Section 336 of the PPC on the accused, Aun Abbas, of Abbas Pur, besides 14-year sentence with Rs19,000 fine under Section 7 of the ATA, one-year imprisonment with Rs20,000 fine under Section 337-F1 and one-year punishment with Rs10,000 fine under Section 354 of the PPC.

The convict, on April 7, threw acid on Khalida Mai, 40, after she refused to marry her daughter to him.

Meanwhile, the same court allowed two-day physical remand of Ijaz Ahmed, accused of throwing acid on Uzma of Islam Nagar. The victim suffered acid burns on May 31 near Sitara Colony and breathed her last on Wednesday.

Dawn