PESHAWAR, June 12: A two-member bench of the Peshawar High Court on Wednesday, accepting a writ petition, allowed dissolution of marriage of a girl who had fallen prey to the tribal custom of Swara at the age of six.

The bench, comprising Justice Nasirul Mulk and Justice Ijaz Afzal, observed that the petitioner had a legal right to exercise her “option of puberty” after coming of age.

An Islahi Jirga, to settle a family row in 1992, had decided that the petitioner, Ms Shamsul Huda, should be married to Inamul Haq, a boy of the rival group. According to Swara, feuds are settled between rival groups by handing over girls in marriages to the opponents.

Advocate Sikander Khan, appearing for Ms Huda of Daggar (Buner District), stated that her father had given the rival party an undertaking in 1992 wherein he accepted to have solemnized her Nikah with Inamul Haq without any dowry.

Mr Khan claimed that the Nikah was illegal, as fixation and acceptance of dowry by both husband and wife was mandatory for marriage in Islam.

He told the bench that the girl had filed a suit in the civil court, but the court did not accept her right of exercising “option of puberty”, and dismissed the suit.