Forced decisions: Two sisters allegedly commit suicide to avoid jirga ruling
The jirga decided that the women must return to their marital homes.
According to father of the girls, Bashira and Parveen had been unwilling to return to Daral and Kalo, says police. PHOTO: FILE
DERA ISMAIL KHAN:
The bodies of two sisters, who allegedly killed themselves following a jirga’s decision, were found on Monday.
The women reportedly jumped into the Chashma Right Bank Canal in Parowa, DI Khan last week on Thursday when a jirga decided both the sisters who were unhappily married to two brothers would have to return to their husbands, a Parowa police station official said.
According to the police, Bashira, 32, and Parveen, 25, were married to two brothers, Kalo and Daral, respectively, but were separated and lived with their parents for the past one year. The jirga brought about a compromise between the girls’ father and their husbands, stating the women must return to their marital homes.
The sisters, however, were unhappy with this decision. Their father Khuda Bakhash told the police his daughters were missing when he returned home on Thursday. The worried family started a search for Bashira and Parveen who had been spotted by locals heading towards the canal. However, the search was unsuccessful and Bakhash suspected his daughters might have felt compelled to end their own lives because of the jirga’s unfavourable ruling.
On Monday, their bodies were found in the Chashma Right Bank Canal.
The Parowa police official said according to Bakshash, Bashira and Parveen had been unwilling to return to Daral and Kalo. However, the police intend to investigate the cause of death further.
The official did not reveal the details of those who participated in the jirga other than it was mostly local elders.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 10th, 2013.
The bodies of two sisters, who allegedly killed themselves following a jirga’s decision, were found on Monday.
The women reportedly jumped into the Chashma Right Bank Canal in Parowa, DI Khan last week on Thursday when a jirga decided both the sisters who were unhappily married to two brothers would have to return to their husbands, a Parowa police station official said.
According to the police, Bashira, 32, and Parveen, 25, were married to two brothers, Kalo and Daral, respectively, but were separated and lived with their parents for the past one year. The jirga brought about a compromise between the girls’ father and their husbands, stating the women must return to their marital homes.
The sisters, however, were unhappy with this decision. Their father Khuda Bakhash told the police his daughters were missing when he returned home on Thursday. The worried family started a search for Bashira and Parveen who had been spotted by locals heading towards the canal. However, the search was unsuccessful and Bakhash suspected his daughters might have felt compelled to end their own lives because of the jirga’s unfavourable ruling.
On Monday, their bodies were found in the Chashma Right Bank Canal.
The Parowa police official said according to Bakshash, Bashira and Parveen had been unwilling to return to Daral and Kalo. However, the police intend to investigate the cause of death further.
The official did not reveal the details of those who participated in the jirga other than it was mostly local elders.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 10th, 2013.