Another jirga-induced tragedy

A 16-year-old girl’s life was tragically cut short in Abbottabad, once again at the hands of a jirga, which ordered her murdered for the ‘crime’ of helping her friend elope with her boyfriend. She was drugged, strangled and immolated in a van before her charred body was found on April 29. The police have arrested 13 members of the jirga as well as the girl’s mother for the gruesome murder. Here we have yet another instance of a jirga acting as the judge, jury and executioner, flouting all manner of law and the state’s writ and perpetrating its evil influence. Time and again, countless innocent people have been victimised by these tribal councils, which often have the backing of members of the political class. The impunity with which jirgas operate across the country gives the impression that they have some kind of state-sanctioned authority — which they do not.

Adding to the teenager’s misfortune was that her family, including her mother, appeared to be aware of the jirga’s sentence and did little to help her avert her tragic end. While it goes without saying that the perpetrators of this crime must be punished and that the government get serious about clamping down on the jirga system, let this also be a case where the state establishes clear legislation for parents on treatment towards their children. The evil hands at play here have set a terrible example and will continue to do so until stopped dead in their tracks. It is all too typical in this patriarchal society to have jirgas taking control of such situations; essentially, jirgas are groups of men allowed to wield power, especially when it comes to women and free will. It is time to implement strictly laws that ban the existence of these bodies. Members of jirgas that act as quasi-courts across the country need to be classified as criminals and taken to task, even if they happen to be influential politicians, as is so often the case.


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