Jirga forces married couple to abort child, divorce
Abro was asked to pay Rs550,000 for eloping with a girl from the tribe.
SUKKUR:
A 19-year-old girl identified as Naveeda was told to undergo an abortion and her 25-year-old husband Attaullah Abro was asked to pay Rs550,000 by a jirga. As part of the settlement, Abro was also asked to divorce his pregnant wife.
The jirga was held in Hoti village near Madeji on Wednesday and was led by Azhar Ali Kamariyo, a landlord. Sources claim that the jirga was organised to settle a marital dispute between two groups of the Abro tribe. They said that Naveeda and Attaullah had run away from home to get married 10 months ago against the will of their parents. Sources added that their marriage had caused a lot of problems within the tribe. To settle the issue, Naveeda’s father Hazoor Bux Abro asked tribal elders to do something to get her back.
After both sides of the case were presented before the jirga, it was decided that Naveeda and Attuallah were guilty. He was then forced by his parents and tribal elders to leave his wife.
Kamariyo’s older brother Sardar Himat Ali told The Express Tribune that he had heard about the jirga and the verdict. “I called my brother immediately. He told me that nothing of the sort had happened. There was no jirga, divorce or abortion,” he said. The head constable of the Sharif Kharoos police station was not available to comment. The Chali Kalwari police station DSP said that they would register a case if there was proof that the jirga had taken place.
The Sindh High Court Sukkur bar association former general secretary Shabbir Shar said that he would file a petition against the jirga’s decision on Thursday (today).
Published in The Express Tribune, November 3rd, 2011.
A 19-year-old girl identified as Naveeda was told to undergo an abortion and her 25-year-old husband Attaullah Abro was asked to pay Rs550,000 by a jirga. As part of the settlement, Abro was also asked to divorce his pregnant wife.
The jirga was held in Hoti village near Madeji on Wednesday and was led by Azhar Ali Kamariyo, a landlord. Sources claim that the jirga was organised to settle a marital dispute between two groups of the Abro tribe. They said that Naveeda and Attaullah had run away from home to get married 10 months ago against the will of their parents. Sources added that their marriage had caused a lot of problems within the tribe. To settle the issue, Naveeda’s father Hazoor Bux Abro asked tribal elders to do something to get her back.
After both sides of the case were presented before the jirga, it was decided that Naveeda and Attuallah were guilty. He was then forced by his parents and tribal elders to leave his wife.
Kamariyo’s older brother Sardar Himat Ali told The Express Tribune that he had heard about the jirga and the verdict. “I called my brother immediately. He told me that nothing of the sort had happened. There was no jirga, divorce or abortion,” he said. The head constable of the Sharif Kharoos police station was not available to comment. The Chali Kalwari police station DSP said that they would register a case if there was proof that the jirga had taken place.
The Sindh High Court Sukkur bar association former general secretary Shabbir Shar said that he would file a petition against the jirga’s decision on Thursday (today).
Published in The Express Tribune, November 3rd, 2011.