Medieval ‘justice’

Even in modern times, extra-judicial tribunals, or jirgas, continue to mete out judgments which have a profound impact on the lives and liberties of ordinary people — even though they have been declared illegal by courts. As has been seen repeatedly, the verdicts of these jirgas are very often unjust, and just as often work against the poorest and least powerful members of society. This has happened once again in a Jacobabad village. A resident has turned up before the Jacobabad press club with his four minor daughters whom he has put up for auction. He says he was forced to take this step after his son was declared karo by a jirga headed by a powerful landlord, and a fine of Rs1.6 million was imposed. A policeman had accused the young man of having illicit relations with his daughter. The father denies there is any truth in this and says the accusation was made simply as a means to extort money. Threats to kill his son have been made, leading him to take desperate action in order to raise the amount required to save his son.

The story is, of course, a shocking one. It says a great deal about the kind of medieval society we live in. For this man and his family there was simply no place to turn to seek redress of grievance. He believed he had no choice but to sacrifice his daughters for his son. In this specific case, the media coverage of events may help him find a way out. Officialdom, NGOs and individuals are likely to intervene. But in far too many cases, this does not happen. Illegal jirga verdicts go unreported. We have heard of such forums acting in urban centres as well. This state of affairs has gone on for too long. We need urgent action to stop such jirgas from functioning, penalise those involved and move towards creating a society where the kind of desperate scenes we witnessed at the Jacobabad press club are not repeated again and again. The rule of law must prevail.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th,  2015.

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