Mochi Waala resident Anwar’s wife was publicly humiliated in his absence by his family. Anwar’s wife Nadia and her two children were later evicted from the village after Nadia was suspected of adultery. “The family took the matter to the panchayat and the panchayat ruled that an example should be made of Nadia before she was turned out of the village,” said resident Saadullah.
Anwar, who is a truck driver, was often away from home. “My brother travels all over the province and in his absence his wife was having illicit relations,” Anwar’s brother Kashif told the police, while in custody. Anwar’s family said that they could have killed his wife but chose to take the matter to the panchayat.
Anwar’s parents and other relatives accused Nadia of having relations several men in the area. Nadia was dragged in public by her family and brought to a landlord’s dera where a panchayat ruled that her hair should be cut, her face should be blackened and she should be paraded around in the village. Panchayat members Akram, Qaisar, Shakir, Bashir, Allah Datta, Ajmal and Khalid also ruled that Nadia be banished from the village. “She has been having illicit relations with several men and she needed to be made an example of,” said panchayat member Shakir Noor. Following the punishment the panchayat ruled that Nadia be turned out of the village and not be allowed to return. “She and her children have been banished and if they return they will be killed,” Qaisar said.
The panchayat members and Anwar’s family paraded Nadia around the village for over an hour before they turned her out. Nadia’s husband has still not returned to the village and has not contacted his family. Nadia told police officials that she spent the night waiting outside the village boundary with her children and could not get in touch with her husband. “They have tortured me for no reason. I was accused because I had quarrelled with my husband’s family,” Nadia told the police, adding “the entire panchayat was made up of my husband’s relatives.”
Kuhna Police Station officials said that they had not received any application regarding the incident. “We need someone to file a complaint and the woman is too scared to do so,” Station House Officer (SHO) Mehr Zulfiqar initially said, adding “we will investigate the matter and as soon as we get a formal application against the persons involved we will take action.”
District Superintendent Police (DSP) Shehzad Manzoor has taken notice of the incident and said that they would offer protection to the victim. “We have brought Nadia into custody and we will take her statement before we can proceed against the criminals,” Manzoor said.
*The name of the victim has been altered to protect her identity
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23rd, 2011.
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