January 15, 2015

SHC upholds girls’ will in forced marriage case

By Z Ali

HYDERABAD: The controversy surrounding the forced conversion and subsequent marriages of two underage Hindu girls may remain a mystery. Several contradictions in the claims and counter-claims surfaced as the case was being heard at the Sindh High Court Hyderabad bench on Monday.

One of the girls, Mavi Kohli, affirmed her parent’s stance of her abduction, forced marriage and conversion. The other girl, Badal Kohli, however denied any coercion in her marriage and acceptance of Islam. Both were allegedly kidnapped from their katcha homes in Arain village, Badin district, by local influential landlords in the last week of November. But the Arains claim otherwise.

The parents of Mavi, who was renamed as Hameeda after her conversion, claimed her age was 13 years. However, the court-ordered medical report placed her age between 16 to 17 years. Badal, alias Zeenat, is older.

The SHC order, issued by Justice Azizur Rehman, also reflected the wishes of both the girls against what were the contention of their parents and husbands. Mavi deposed that she was kidnapped, converted and was married at gunpoint to 62-year-old Mir Muhammad Arain. But her elder relative, Badal, stated that she willfully converted and married 26-year-old Khamiso Arain. The court ordered Mavi to go with her parents and Badal with her husband.

The controversy began soon after their alleged abduction when Veenjho Kohli and Shambho Kohli registered FIRs against the Arains at Tando Ghulab Laghari Police Station. The Kohlis also mobilised social support from among their community to retrieve their girls.

The All Pakistan Hindu Panchayat condemned the incident and demanded justice.

A team of over half a dozen Hindu lawyers reportedly provided voluntary services to fight the case on behalf of the Kohlis, who were the respondents in the case.

The separate, yet simultaneous, petitions were filed on December 1, 2014, by Khamiso and Mir Muhammad who accused the Kohlis of harassment and forced attempts to retrieve the girls.

“We have been working as peasants of these influential people for the last several decades,” said Veenjho. “They keep exploiting us one way or other.”

The stance of Shambho, Badal’s father, was the same as Mavi, though his daughter denied the Kohlis’ accusations. “My daughter has given her statement [in the court] under duress. She has been threatened with dire consequences against her and her family,” he had claimed, while speaking to the media after the last hearing on December 18, 2014.

At the last hearing, Badal was allowed to live with her husband. Justice Zafar Ali Rajput, who heard the case, ordered Mavi to stay at Darul Aman until the judgment.

However, Mavi prayed to the court to let her live with her parents. A surety of Rs500,000 was later submitted by her father to take her home.

For his part, Khamiso, claimed that his wife, Badal and Mavi, had both converted to Islam of their own free will. Mavi was married to an older man because no other person was willing to keep her at their home fearing backlash from the family, he added.

Express Tribune

January 15, 2015

‘I am Malala’ to be taught at US university

I am Malala’, the memoirs of the youngest-ever Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai will be part of George Washington University’s Leadership Programme this summer, according to the university’s website.

The memoir will be incorporated in the university’s Summer Reading Series Symposium of its leadership programme. “The book has been inspirational to readers around the world, compelling GW’s Women’s Leadership Program to incorporate it into its Summer Reading Series Symposium,” the website said.

Further, George Washington’s Global Women’s Institute, in collaboration with the Malala Fund has developed a resource guide for high school, college and university students.

A committee comprising GW faculty with expertise in a wide range of disciplines, including international affairs, media studies, language and literature, religion, history, women’s studies, leadership studies and education, developed the resource guide.

Express Tribune

January 15, 2015

Divorced daughters, unmarried sisters also entitled to family pension: ombudsman

LAHORE: The Punjab government, following the directions of Punjab ombudsman, has made amendment in the Punjab Pension Rules according to which divorced daughter and unmarried sister of the deceased government employee would also be entitled for grant of family pension till life after his widow, infants and unmarried daughters.

The Punjab Finance Department has issued amended notification and copies of the same have been sent to all administrative secretaries, heads of the attached departments, DCOs, Lahore High Court, accountant general Punjab, all district advisers of the ombudsman Punjab and District Accounts Officers for compliance with effect from May 15, 2013.

According to details, Samina Gulnar Khanam, and Zubaida Bibi, divorced daughters of deceased government employees Fazal Hussain and Abdul Rahim respectively, lodged applications to the Punjab ombudsman that they had no regular source of income after the death of the their father and the payment of family pension was also stopped as they were not entitled for the same as per existing rules although they were dependent in their houses.

In similar applications addressed to the ombudsman, Sakina Begum and Ata Bibi, unmarried sisters of late Shafqat Ara, and late Hajira Begum respectively pointed out that they were dependent in the home of their sisters which were government employees but payment of pension was stopped with their death. Ombudsman Javed Mahmood directed Incharge Mohtasib Punjab Pension Cell Wazir Ahmad Qureshi to probe the issue and submit recommendations for appropriate amendments in existing rules.

The ombudsman was told that as per Finance Department’s notification, the divorced daughter was entitled for grant of family pension till her re-marriage in 2013. The ombudsman observed that the widowed daughters and unmarried sisters of the deceased pensioners’ civil servant, wholly dependent and residing with the deceased pensioners, do face the similar agonies and miseries as the widowed daughter and unmarried sister of the late father and late brother.

The categories of divorced daughters and unmarried sister are left with no regular income to support their livelihood, health care and social society after losing the shelter of father and brother, said the Punjab ombudsman. The complainants lost necessities of life such as food, housing, education and medical relief. The safeguard for its citizen provided under Articles 9 and 38 of the Constitution made the State responsible to provide basic necessities of life such as food, housing, education and medical relief.

The inclusion of widowed daughter in amended notification dated May 15, 2013 for the grant of family pension justified the implementation of the provisions of Constitution but the case of divorced daughter and unmarried sisters tended to commensurate with the case of widowed daughter, who already brought parallel to the unmarried daughter for the purpose of grant of family pension which is discriminate and prohibited under the provisions of article 25 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The ombudsman directed the Punjab government to make amendments accordingly to include the divorced daughter and unmarried sister as well in the Punjab Pension Rules.

Daily Times