Family claims girl was forced into marriage

Couple says they married of their own volition

ABBOTTABAD: A girl’s family has alleged that she was forced into marriage. However, her version of events and a medical examination paint a different picture.

Speaking to journalists in Mansehra, Muhammad Adeel said his sister was a student of class eight. A couple of weeks ago, she did not return home from school. After several attempts to determine her whereabouts, her parents informed the police Mazhar, Shakoor and Saeed from Ichriyan village in Mansehra had kidnapped her.



According to the complainants, the eighth grader was abducted because her parents had refused to marry her off to Mazhar five months ago. The police registered a criminal case against the suspect under the Pakistan Penal Code.

However, the girl appeared before the court and recorded her statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. As per her statement, the girl said she eloped with Mazhar and wanted to marry him.

Question marks

The court had ordered a medical examination. According to the doctors, the girl was between 18 and 19 years old.

Adeel vehemently rejected the report, saying school records prove that his sister is no more than 13 or 14 years old. “This can be verified by her school records,” he said.

Coercion

According to Adeel, the kidnappers connived with doctors and the police to prove that the girl was an adult. He reiterated school records would corroborate the fact that she was a minor.



“As a result, her marriage is against the law,” he said.  Adeel added the accused forced the girl to record her statement in their favour. He pressed the chief justice of Pakistan to take suo motu notice in this case.

Taking stock

When contacted, an official of Nawanshehr police said the girl went missing a month ago. However, she later recorded a statement before the judge, confirming she was not kidnapped and had eloped with Mazhar. He said when a doctor confirmed the girl was not underaged, there was no justification to halt their union.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21^st, 2016.