The religious scholars and ulema termed the forced and swara marriages against Sharia and asked the authorities concerned to ban such practices once and for all. They were speaking at a seminar about ‘early and forced marriages’ organised by the Awakening, an organisation working for the women’s rights, and for social and cultural development. Iftikhar Hussain, a representative of Awakening, said that owning to frequent forced and early marriages it was deemed necessary to tell the society that such practices were against Sharia. Religious scholar Mufti Abdul Wahab said that swara or forceful marriage of a girl to resolve conflicts between two rival families was an anti-Islamic act. He said that Islam gave freedom to a girl and boy for marriage and the Islamic state was responsible to ensure, food, security, shelter, education, health and even Nikah in a proper way to a person. He said that swara or forced marriage was also against Pakhtun traditions. Religious scholars in our society almost uphold the top most position of authority, where their opinion is an important factor in the eradication of Swara. The common people understand the ulema well. They can easily motivate the communities to shun this vile practice.An anthropologist and documentarian, Samar Minallah started investigating swara in the early 2000s. In 2003, her documentary Swara — A Bridge Over Troubled Water, profiled victims and their families, where she went into rural regions and spoke with men who had been forced to give a daughter or sister away as compensation for a crime or to settle a family feud. Her work challenged the norms in very traditional areas of Pakistan; she faced intimidation and death threats. And she still does. For her, men play an important part in making sure the practice of swara gets eradicated. Men, too, face hurdles for speaking up and for challenging norms,” she says. “Standing up in the face of society and country expectations, that takes a lot of courage.” In 2004, in response to her documentary, Pakistan officially outlawed swara. No longer can women legally be given as compensation for crimes. The punishment for offenders is three to 10 years in jail.
pk.shafaqna.com
