Fighting back: Teenager escapes forced marriage
On Monday, Razia left home but was found near Oghi Hospital after her parents lodged a complaint with the police.
MANSEHRA:
A teenage girl who was forcibly married to her cousin was sent to Darul Amaan after she fled her home, police said on Tuesday.
Police said Firdoon, a resident of Khatai Oghi, had solemnised his 17-year-old daughter Razia’s* nikah with Sohail, one of her cousins. Family members and police said the girl raised objections to the forced marriage after which her parents subjected her to physical abuse.
On Monday, Razia left home but was found near Oghi Hospital after her parents lodged a complaint with the police. The police later produced the girl in court where the area’s magistrate, after recording her statement, had her shifted to Darul Amaan, Abbottabad. Forced marriage is a criminal offence under the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Act, 2011.
*Name has been changed to protect identity
Published in The Express Tribune, June 12th, 2013.
A teenage girl who was forcibly married to her cousin was sent to Darul Amaan after she fled her home, police said on Tuesday.
Police said Firdoon, a resident of Khatai Oghi, had solemnised his 17-year-old daughter Razia’s* nikah with Sohail, one of her cousins. Family members and police said the girl raised objections to the forced marriage after which her parents subjected her to physical abuse.
On Monday, Razia left home but was found near Oghi Hospital after her parents lodged a complaint with the police. The police later produced the girl in court where the area’s magistrate, after recording her statement, had her shifted to Darul Amaan, Abbottabad. Forced marriage is a criminal offence under the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Act, 2011.
*Name has been changed to protect identity
Published in The Express Tribune, June 12th, 2013.