A crying need

Hindus in Pakistan have a right to a marriage law, and it should be presented and passed with due speed.

Once again, the issue of the lack of a marriage law for Hindus has come to the fore. Out of all the minority faiths in Pakistan, only the Christians have legislation recognising their marriages, but for the rest — a legislative desert strewn with rocks. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) says it has received many referrals of Hindu women, principally very poor, who have sought to lodge a complaint against their husbands but in the absence of a marriage certificate that is legally valid, they have no recourse to law. If they are abused or deserted, they cannot seek dissolution of their marriage because they cannot prove they were married in the first place — and uncooperative husbands may well deny the marriage anyway. The HRCP says that it receives at least two referrals a month, but this is likely to be the tip of the iceberg.

The need for a law relating to Hindu marriage has been evident for decades but successive governments have dragged their feet. Even now, with a law drafted by a range of experts, it has yet to be introduced into the Sindh Assembly. Representatives of the Hindu community complain bitterly that the lawmakers are indifferent to the needs of and issues that beset minority communities. Slightly paradoxically, the situation in rural Larkana is better than in urban Karachi. The Hindu Panchayat in Larkana issues a certificate after a marriage that is acceptable in the courts and one wonders at why such a practical solution could not be found in Karachi? Hopefully, the draft Bill will be presented to the Sindh Assembly within the month which will include clauses relating to maintenance, divorce, child custody and the disposition of property. Once again, Pakistan has shown that it is indifferent at best and dismissive at worst of the wants and needs of its minority groups. Most of the Hindus in Pakistan are among the poorest of the poor, having the most menial jobs where they can get employment at all and poor access to health and education services. They have a right to a marriage law, and it should be presented and passed with due speed.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 9^th, 2013.

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