Woman declared kali over affair suspicion

Panchayat tells her father to marry off his 9-year-old daughter to her former husband

BAHAWALPUR: A panchayat has ordered a man to marry off his nine-year-old daughter to her sister’s former husband and to pay him Rs400,000 and cede an acre of land as compensation for his other daughter’s ‘vagaries’.



Shabaan, 40, a resident of Muraad Dahar village, near Bhong, Sadiqabad, had accused his wife, 32, of having an affair with one of his relatives. He had declared her kali, divorced her and sent her away last month.

This week, a panchayat, led by some local landlords announced punishment and compensation in this case.

Ahmad told the woman’s father to marry off his nine-year-old younger daughter to Shabaan, and to give him Rs400,000 and an acre land as compensation. They have given the father five days to arrange for all this. In the event that they can’t, they will have to leave the village in disgrace, the woman’s mother told journalists. The father said that the elders handling the panchayat had been unduly cruel to them. He said they had filed a complaint with the police but no action had been taken in this regard.



A Bhong police spokesperson said that they had received a complaint. “We did not know about the panchayat, but now that you (the reporter) have told us about it, we will take action according to law.”

Published in The Express Tribune, April 7^th,  2016.