Child Marriages: 11-year-old girl rescued from forced marriage

Eleven-year-old girl being wed to a 67-year-old man rescued by police.

DHONKAL: An 11-year-old girl who was being wed to a 67-year-old man was rescued after neighbours heard her crying and informed the police.

Dhonkal area police arrived at the scene and broke up the wedding.

Police officials arrested the groom and several guests from a room in a local wedding hall. Dhonkal area magistrate ordered the registration of a case against the accused bridegroom, the nikah khawan and several witnesses.

Sikandarpura resident, 67-year-old Abdul Rahim, said that he had “purchased” 11-year-old Asiya for Rs65,000 from her father, Fida Hussain. Hussain, a witness, said that a nikah khawan, Sajad, was called in from Wazirabad to perform the ceremony in Gujranwala. Abdul Waheed Sajad recited the nikah and Mirza Tahir was a witness at the wedding.

Police said that Asiya had been locked in a room and began crying for help when residents called the police. Station house officer (SHO) Farhat Bhatti recovered the girl and the police presented Asiya in the court of area magistrate civil judge Sohail Anjum.

Asiya told police officials that Rahim had abused her and tried to force himself on her before the wedding when she began to scream out for help.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2^nd, 2010.