Angered by divorce: Ex-husband tortures mother of 12, shaves head and eyebrows

Victim claims her husband used to beat their children, one of whom died.

LARKANA: The former husband of a 45-year-old woman tortured her and shaved her head and eyebrows at gunpoint, two years after their divorce in Larkana.

The accused escaped after the incident and has yet to be located. The victim, Zohra, narrated her ordeal from the Women’s Police Station in Larkana on Saturday after she escaped from her husband, Abdul Sattar Metlo, and filed a case.

Zohra said that Abdul Sattar, a resident of Aqil Road neighbourhood, divorced her two years ago because of fights. The couple had nine sons and three daughters.

Zohra said that Abdul Sattar was not employed and had become a drug addict. Her eldest son, who worked as a labourer, used to earn for the family but Abdul Sattar tried to take away all the money. “When we protested, he used to beat me and even my children,” she said. Her eldest son became depressed from these fights and died soon after.

After the divorce, Zohra moved to Khairpur with her father and children. Here she earned a living by weaving baskets and selling dates in them.

On Saturday, Zohra went to Larkana to visit Abdul Sattar’s sister because someone in their family had died. When Abdul Sattar saw her, Zohra said, he lost control and started asking her why she left him. “He became very violent,” she said. According to Zohra, he also held a gun against her head and forced his nephews, Waheed, Wali Muhammad and Badshah, to shave her head and eyebrows. After this, he ran away from the house.

Zohra went to the women’s police station and reported her ordeal.

The police raided the house of Abdul Sattar’s sister but could not find him. Zohra told the police that Abdul Sattar may have gone to their 22-year-old daughter, who is married and lives in the Bero Chandio neighbourhood of Larkana.

Gulshan, Zohra’s daughter, said that her father came to visit her on Saturday but he left. She believed that he may be on his way to Khairpur.

SHO Zarina Chandio filed the case on the victim’s behalf and nominated her husband and his three nephews. Further investigations into the case will be held, said officer Zeenat Abro. Zohra was in police custody until the filing of this report.

Meanwhile, Zohra’s daughters, 25-year-old Momal, 24-year-old Pathani and Gulshan are married and living with their husbands. Her remaining children are sons, Muharram, Abdul Jabbar, Waqar, Hamidullah, Shamrez, Rashid and Ghulam Mustafa who are living with Zohra’s father in Khairpur.

Sindh Minister for Women Development Tauqeer Fatima Bhutto took note of this incident and ordered the police to submit a report.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 2^nd, 2011.