Even in 2017, the women of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) continue to bear the brunt of oppressive customs. There has been little debate on the custom of ‘ghag’ prevalent in FATA and some areas of Khyber Pakhtunkwa (KP), whereby a man announces his intention to marry a particular woman by sending a person to the bride’s house or sometimes even by firing shots before naming his chosen bride. Several reports attest that the man in question is not obligated to marry her despite the announcement but the woman is barred from marrying anyone else after the announcement is made.
The custom is often used as a tool to play revenge on the women’s family and settle personal scores. A number of women are said to have committed suicide in FATA because of the emotional trauma they go through in instances where men who used ‘ghag’ refuse to marry them later.
A woman from Bajaur Agency recently filed a case in the Peshawar High Court (PHC)against a man allegedly invoking ghag against her when she was two-years-old. The court on Monday disposed of the petition and termed the custom ‘against the fundamental rights of an individual guaranteed in the constitution’. Although the KP Assembly had passed a law against the custom in 2013, it does not extend to FATA which is why women of FATA continue to face the inhumane practice. This custom is yet another reason why the government must not delay implementation of FATA reforms any further, so that the law applicable in the rest of the country can be extended to FATA.
However, the government must address the concerns of women activists from FATA about the Riwaj Act that will replace the draconian Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR). Local jirgas in the region encourage practices of ‘ghag’ in the name of tribal custom and the Riwaj Act has legitimised the jirgas. It needs to be revisited by taking on board the women of FATA since we do not want one set of draconian laws being replaced by another.
No comments:
Post a Comment