Allegations of immorality: Judge’s decision to shelter woman triggers scuffle

Fist fight breaks out between two groups of protesting lawyers.

CHITRAL:

A protest between two groups of lawyers in Darosh area of Chitral over the issue of a civil judge allegedly sheltering a woman inside his house for the last two days led to a brawl on Saturday.

A woman whose identity was kept confidential had filed a case with civil judge Draosh Tayyab Ali Awan, stating she did not want to live with her husband but her parents were not letting her live in their house either. Eventually, Awan offered her to stay with him.

Consequently, residents of the area and a group of lawyers criticised the judge and launched a protest, demanding the government to suspend Awan.

Advocate Imtiaz Hussain and Advocate Naveed Rahman along with an elder of the area, Haji Muhammad Shifa, led protests in Darosh Bazaar and blocked Peshawar-Chitral Road for all traffic from 11am onwards.

Addressing protesters, Hussain said the judge should have considered cultural norms before offering the woman shelter as he also has no family of his own. “In such a case, women are handed to well-off families or elders of the area who allow them to take shelter in their house. But the judge did so without consulting the government,” he said, deeming the act “immoral”.

Demonstrators demanded Peshawar High Court (PHC) chief justice to take action against Awan within 24 hours, saying they will otherwise launch massive protests for which the government will be responsible.

Later, another group led by Advocate Fazal Maula and Advocate Akram rushed to support Awan’s decision. They said the judge had taken the right step as there are no shelter homes for women in Chitral.

A fist fight then broke out between the two groups after which the crowd scattered, ending the protest.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 15^th, 2013.