MIANWALI, Nov 21: Parents of five girls belonging to Chidroo are ready to surrender their assets to save their daughters from falling victim to notorious tribal custom called vani. The girls, now in schools and colleges with one of them MA English student, had appealed to the President and the Supreme Court chief justice last week to save their lives from the cruel social rite declared unlawful recently.
Girls said that during their childhood they were given in verbal nikah in compromise of a murder to save their elders. They said they were now getting college/school education while their spouses were illiterate and vagabonds. A few weeks ago, on their refusal to be solemnized, their spouses shot at and injured two of their brothers. Later, their so-called spouses got their injured brothers to the DHQ Hospital.
Two of the three fathers of five girls have offered cash and land to their rivals as compensation while the third, Jehan Khan, the father of three, is ready to migrate to some other area after handing over his houses and other valuables.
Their so-called husbands meanwhile are not ready to accept anything except the girls. They have reportedly threatened to either lift their ‘wives’ or would settle their score by killing their fathers and brothers.
Police, as a preventive measure, had arrested 16 people — nine from boys side and seven from girls — on Friday night, but they all were released on bail.
Wan Bhachran police had registered a murder case on Oct 10, 1991, against one Muhammad Iqbal of Sultanwala Sharqi village, Mouza Jhangikhel Chidroo, for murdering his relative Muhammad Zaman Khan on suspicion. Before the murder incident, Muhammad Afzal, the son of alleged killer Muhammad Iqbal, had shot at and injured Muhammad Zaman in 1990. An FIR had also been lodged with the Wan Bhachran police station.
The district and sessions judge had handed down death sentence to convict Iqbal while the Lahore High Court also rejected his appeal. In December 1996, both the families reached a compromise with the help of their joint friends.
Elders had decided to give five girls of the convicted family, including convict’s daughter, to the nephew and grandsons of the deceased as vani for the convict family could not pay the compensation money.
According to the compromise, Asiya Bibi (8), daughter of Iqbal, was married to Sher Abbas (12), son of Muhammad Akbar Khan; Amina Bibi (9), her sisters Abida Bibi (7) and Sajida Bibi (5) were married off to Khan Zaman (18), son of Ahmed Khan; Ikramullah (18), son of Muhammad Khan; Ilyas Khan (8), son of Afzal Khan, respectively, while Fatima Bibi (7), daughter of Abdul Razzaq, was married to Muhammad Qasim (9), son of Muhammad Khan.
Moulvi Inayatullah, prayer leader of Ali Khel village mosque, had verbally solemnized nikahs without entering them in ‘nikah register’ of their union council.
With the passage of time, the girls kept on getting education while their so-called spouses remained illiterate and have now indulged in various social ills.
Under this scenario, parents of the girls have refused to hand over their daughters to their childhood spouses. While the educated girls have also flatly refused to live with their illiterate ‘husbands’.
On their refusal, the ‘husbands’ have threatened to forcibly take away the girls.
Religious scholars have made it clear to girls’ parents that the girls are free to marry on their own will after attaining the age of puberty.
Meanwhile, family members of male spouses reaffirmed their stance that they had the full right on girls because they were given to them under ‘vani’, which was the custom of this area.