April 1, 2004

A woman was stripped of her honour for the sake of revenge in a village near Peshawar. Will the accused be duly punished, or will her case be lost in legal paperwork? asks Sadia Qasim Shah

Bibi (names have been changed to protect identities), 45, is the eldest sister of five brothers. She never married and lives with her elderly parents and two brothers in Urmur Kallay, a village near Peshawar district.

On February 25, Bibi went to greet Noor’s wife who had just given birth to a baby. Noor and Bibi’s brothers had enjoyed friendly relations for 14 years. The women of both the families visited one another on important occasions.

One of Bibi’s brothers, who was abroad, had sent three visas and his brothers who were residing in the village used to sell these visas to those who wanted to go abroad. Noor was offered a visa for Saudi Arabia by Bibi’s brothers, Musa and Haroon, and it was settled that he would pay Rs250,000 to them later.

Noor went abroad leaving his 25-year-old wife behind in the village. After some time had passed, Noor came to know from his wife through a phone call that someone had entered their house at night and raped her. Noor was so angry that he returned from Saudi Arabia straight away.

Noor suspected Musa for sending him abroad, cheating him, and raping his wife in his absence. Anger and revenge grew in his heart. When Bibi visited Noor’s family that afternoon on February 25, she was locked up in a room by Noor, and three other men, and severely beaten.

In Bibi’s own words, “Noor sent his wife away to her parents, and brought his brother, Munir, and two brothers-in-law Kalim and Salim. He told me that ‘your brother has dishonoured me, so I will take revenge by disgracing you.’” He said this to Bibi when he was torturing her and tearing away her clothes. After having her clothes and burqa torn and having been beaten up, she was paraded naked in the streets of the village by these armed men.

According to Bibi, she was so severely beaten up for more than an hour that when she was being made to walk through the streets she was unable to see properly, and her mind was shrouded in a thick black mist. She had tears in her eyes. “I could sense that people were watching me, I could feel the tension, but nobody came forward to help me, and give me something to cover myself with, because they were fearful of the armed men who were with me,” she lamented.

When her maternal uncle and another relative came across them, they ran towards her and gave her something to wear. Her oppressors fled from the spot upon seeing her relatives.

According to Bibi and her two brothers, Noor acted this way because he didn’t want to return the Rs250,000 that he owed to Bibi’s brothers for the visa to Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, the villagers in the area are afraid to speak about the incident and don’t want to get involved in the case. Yet, all the villagers are of the opinion that Bibi’s brother Musa had done “something wrong” for which his sister suffered.

Noor surrendered himself to the police a few days after this incident, claiming that his wife was disgraced by Musa. The real reason as to why this incident occurred still remains unclear.

The villagers who live on the same street as Bibi, confirmed that Bibi was paraded naked. Although they condemned this incident, they were afraid to talk about it openly. The villagers who live on the street where Noor lives are of the view that Musa had cheated and dishonoured Noor. Both the brothers Noor and Munir who were allegedly involved in the case were in the lock up, whereas one person involved had absconded and the fourth had filed for bail before arrest; the latter two, Kalim and Salim are Noor’s brothers-in-law.

People were shocked to hear of this incident as they are rare in Pukthoon culture, in which men solve such disputes either among themselves by convening a jirga or resort to more violent means.

Furthermore, after this incident, Bibi’s other brother Haroon, who is a school teacher, sought the help of government agencies, the press and human rights organizations in the matter — an unprecedented step taken by a victimized person’s family.

“We never expected that our friend could do such a shameful thing to our sister,” he said. “These men are very influential and they have contacts, so if we start a rivalry and pick up arms, we know that they are going to kill us. We are seeking the help of the Mutahidda Majlis-i-Amal government in this case, because a government that came into power in the name of Islam should be responsible for taking care of the weak sections of society.”

Malak Zafar Azam, the provincial minister of law and parliamentary affairs, says that if the charges are proved, the law will certainly punish such people who humiliate women in public.

However, the reality is that courts want evidence. Bibi’s case is complicated as there is no one opinion in the same village regarding this incident, and people are not ready to talk about the incident out of fear.

Bibi’s case is apparently weak as the FIR was registered the day after the incident. “At first, my elderly mother didn’t let me go to the police, as she didn’t want me to go to a police station and suffer more disgrace. But the next day I went to the police station along with my brothers and uncles, and registered the FIR. But I couldn’t tell them about everything that was done to me,” said Bibi, explaining her reasons for the delay in the filing of the FIR.

In the FIR registered at the police station only the charges of attempted rape and torture are written. According to one of Bibi’s uncles, the police advised them not to mention that Bibi was paraded naked in the FIR.

However, when Bibi appeared before the magistrate, she stated that she was not only tortured but also made to walk naked. In the light of the statement before the magistrate, the offence under Section 354 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) was changed to Section 354-A, so if the charges are proven the accused could get life imprisonment or death penalty.

According to a lawyer, the FIR was registered one day later and clear facts are not mentioned which would benefit the victim. Shahnawaz Khan, the SHO concerned, said that they registered the FIR in accordance with whatever Bibi told them, and when she changed her statement before the magistrate, they included Section 354-A of the PPC related to “stripping the clothes of a woman and exposing her to public view”.

According to Bibi, at first she couldn’t speak openly about what had been done to her, but when she appeared before the magistrate she took a little courage and gave a full statement about everything that had happened that day.

“In Urmur Kallay, where even mere quarrels on little things flare up and lead to enmity between the families of the village for years, jirgas are involved in solving disputes. But in this kind of a case even a jirga doesn’t get involved,” said Shafiq Khan, a villager.

Whatever the motive behind such a crime committed against a woman, whether for the sake of money or revenge, the act of stripping the clothes of a woman and forcing her to parade in front of the public is a heinous crime.

“If the victim in this case is lucky enough to provide proof and eyewitnesses before the court, she will get justice and maybe she will find a little solace,” said Akbar Khan, a lawyer.

“I only want those four men to be hanged, nothing else can restore my status in society,” said Bibi. “They have dishonoured me and I can only regain my self-respect if they are punished with death.”

In Pukhtoon culture, a woman is a symbol of the family’s honour, and Bibi dared to speak about the injustice done to her — and brought this matter in front of the media. She seeks justice and wants her honour back — will she find it?

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