Girls 9 and 3 Declared Vani

[TruthSeeker]

Cleric among 10 held in vani case

Monday, January 04, 2010
Our correspondent

MANSEHRA: Police have arrested 10 people including a cleric for being part of a jirga that declared two girls vani in Siran valley, an official said on Sunday.

Mohammad Ayub, father of the vani, Nazi Bibi, was arrested late Saturday and nine jirga members and a cleric Shamsur Rehman were arrested two days back. The jirga members were arrested for declaring two minor girls vani to resolve a marriage dispute. A jirga at Sathan Galli area had declared two girls, Nazi Bibi, 9 and Noreen Bibi, 3, vani last month.

Sources said uncle of the girls, Mohammad Mehboob, and a girl had married on their free will. Taking up the issue, the jirga had given the hand of Nazi Bibi in marriage to a married man Hassan Dar and Noreen Bibi to Mohammad Yasir in marriage. Besides the family paid an amount of Rs0.2 million as compensation to father of Rukhtaj, the girl who had contracted marriage without the consent of her family.

Prior to his arrest, Mohammad Ayub told this correspondent that he wasn’t ready to hand over his daughter as vani but was forced to do so by the rival party. Sardar Ajmal, station house officer of Battal police, said declaring a minor girl as vani was repugnant to existing laws of the country and all the jirga members would be taken to task for the crime. He said that so far 10 people including the cleric and father of Nazi Bibi had been arrested and raids were being conducted to arrest the remaining ones.

Cleric among 10 held in vani case

 

[Developereo]

We need strong laws (and quick enforcement) to cure these morons of their misogyny.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Sardar Ajmal, station house officer of Battal police, said declaring a minor girl as vani was repugnant to existing laws of the country and all the jirga members would be taken to task for the crime.

What is the punishment for such a "crime" in Pakistan?

 

[Developereo]

What is the punishment for such a "crime" in Pakistan?

Probably harsh on the books, but enforcement may not be as strict. Not because of misogyny but law enforcement in general is underfunded in most poor countries, including Pakistan.

Pakistan: Harsher punishment for crime against women

Also the laws prohibiting it have been on the books for a while,

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Forced child marriage tests Pakistan law

The sisters say they have law, religion and family on their side.

What they have against them is the weight of tradition, tribe and patriarchy.


Child brides are a big problem in this part of the world:

One-third of world's child brides from India-UNICEF | Reuters

More than half the world's child brides are in south Asia,

South Asia generally means India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, etc.

 

[Fracker]

Gud work police!

Best part was, they manage to arrest jirga members, which is an achievement.

 

[courageneverdies]

Now the best part would be that if they were punished. In most of the cases punishments are a dream.

KIT Out

 

[PlanetWarrior]

3 and 9 years old !!! These animals should be castrated

 

[BrahmaChellaney]

Its legal according to Islam I guess, but not legal morally..also no clear cut handling of age factor.

"Woman has the right to accept or reject marriage proposals. Her consent is a prerequisite to the validity of the marital contract, according to the Prophet’s teaching. It follows that if an "arranged marriage" means the marrying of a female without her consent, then such a marriage may be annulled if the female so wishes: "

"Ibn Abbas reported that a girl came to the Messenger of Allah, and she reported that her father had forced her to marry without her consent. The Messenger of God gave her the choice...(between accepting the marriage or invalidating it) (Ahmad, Hadith no. 2469). another version of the report states that “the girl said: ‘Actually, I accept this marriage, but I wanted to let women know that parents have no right to force a husband on them.’” (Ibn-Majah).

"

 

[Developereo]

Its legal according to Islam I guess,

It's not legal according to Islam. Some Muslim "scholars" deliberately misinterpret hadiths to suit their wishes.

Women in Islam Versus Women in Christianity and Judaism - A comparative Study

 

[dbc]

what the heck is vani? is it child marriage? why would anyone in their right mind want to marry a 3 year old?

 

[Developereo]

why would anyone in their right mind want to marry a 3 year old?

It has probably more to do with revenge, tribal 'justice' and punishing the parents than the girl herself.

 

[dbc]

It has probably more to do with revenge, tribal 'justice' and punishing the parents than the girl herself.

Isn't it punishment for the groom, only a masichist would want to marry a toddler.

 

[Developereo]

Isn't it punishment for the groom, only a masichist would want to marry a toddler.

The groom may not even touch the toddler.

Like I said, this is more of a punishment aimed at the parents. In conservative societies, the daughter is seen as a symbol of the family's honor and is to be protected (remain chaste) until marriage. This is also the thought process behing so-called 'honor' killings.

This child is an unfortunate accessory to inflict punishment on the parents; they probably give her as much though as they would to a gun or any inanimate object used to commit a crime.