Domestic violence: Man burns ‘wife over insufficient dowry’
A teenage was burnt allegedly by her in-laws following an argument over her dowry in a Rahim Yar Khan village on Tuesday.
Seventeen-year-old Fauzia, a resident of 72 NP, was taken to Shaikh Zayed Hospital where doctors described her condition as critical. They said she had suffered severe burns on more than 60 per cent of her body and that she was unlikely to survive.
Kot Sanawa police Investigation Officer Niaz Ahmed said they had registered a case against Zeeshan Ahmed, Fauzia’s husband, and his brother Imran Ahmed.
Fauzia’s parents said she had been complaining about her in-laws’ behaviour ever since she got married to Zeeshan a year ago. They said her in-laws were not satisfied with the dowry and insisted that she ask her parents for more. They said her in-laws also beat her up a couple of times.
On Tuesday, they said, a neighour called them and informed them that Fauzia had been burnt.
Neighbour Arshad said he had heard a woman crying for help and rushed to the house next door along with his other family members.
He said they found Fauzia rolling on the floor trying to put out the flames. “We poured several buckets of water and later took her to the hospital,” he said. He said there was no one else in the house and suggested that her in-laws had fled.
Fauzia’s brother Sajid Ali said he and his father were both daily-wage workers and that they could not afford to purchase more items for her dowry. He said both he and his father made between Rs400 and Rs500 a day which was just enough to provide two meals to their family.
Wife injured with axe ‘on delaying breakfast’
Meanwhile, 20-year-old Aasiya, a resident of Kandhkot, was admitted to Shaikh Zayed Hospital was severe injuries from an axe attack allegedly by her husband. Aasiya’s parents alleged that her husband, Abdul Haq, had attacked her with the axe for not serving him breakfast a time.
They said Haq had fled the scene later and Aasiya was taken to the hospital by her in-laws. Doctors described her condition as critical.
(Read: Domestic violence: Facing reality - another day, another beating)
Published in The Express Tribune, November 4th, 2011.
COMMENTS (6)
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Many traditional age-old regional practice has nothing to do with one's belief. All ethnic groups in an area practice similar basic traditions. Hindus have cast & so does Punjabi Muslims. Although they don't call it "cast" but they have "classes" on based of traditional jobs ones great great grandparents had or their area of origin. Although Muslims don't have Hindu beliefs but they have found & assimilated similar habits in their new faith which actually has nothing to do with the original religious teaching. For example Qawwali, Chiraghan, Atish bazi, Free sweet distribution, Drum beating at certain occasion, Saint lineage & shrine visiting, Human worship, Types of clothes & ornaments for an occasion, design of houses & concept of cleanliness & filth. The honour killing, place of woman in the family, dowry, prayers & sacrifice at beginning of a project etc. All these are traditional practices with a new twist which are not found at other areas where same religion is practiced. Now instead of tracing our origins and starting another era of brutality & violence we must start to find more humane methods of expressing our feeling, like by "talking it out" or by "Tolerating" any "Deviance" from the "Norm" in the name of "Civility", "Humanity" & "MERCY".
@zalim singh: Well the fact is, the stigma of dowry is the integral part of our social life till the river Attock. Islam has no sway on the basic traditions of Pakistani society which are even older then your religion.
they make me sick those animals, they do not deserve a living
Misogynist hate crimes must end with severe penalties as well as strong prevention.
When the man asked for a dowry, right there and then the marriage should have been annulled and he be charged with theft for such an illegal and immoral entitlement - and that scum burnt her alive for it.
Axing the wife for late breakfast? Sick. At least this scum's in-laws didn't flee and at least got her to hospital, though it maybe too late...
Let me get this straight. Muslims do not take dowry from Bride's family. This is a Hindu tradition. Is dowry halal?
and you want these retards to have voting rights?!