Pakistan: Jirga ‘justice’

Jirgas have ordered murder, rape and public humiliation as ‘fitting’ punishment. These practices will not end until the state makes it a priority to take legal action against those who constitute the jirgas and those who implement unlawful punishments.

Photo: AP | A Jirga proceedings in progress - File Photo

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | Int'l Desk
Source/Credit: Daily Dawn | Pakistan
Editorial | September 22, 2010

Violence against vulnerable sections of society such as women and children, and the denial of their constitutional rights, continues to characterise Pakistani society irrespective, it seems, of all efforts to alter the situation. Often, this is because of lack of awareness and the enforcement of relevant laws.

Consider, for example, a jirga convened on Sunday in Kaloo Jatoi village near Shikarpur, which ordered the marriage of two minor girls as a dispute-settlement mechanism. The complainant, a Jatoi tribesman, accused two men of having had an illicit relationship with his two wives, whom he killed a month ago.
The jirga decided that two girls from the accused men’s families be married into the complainant’s family as compensation. Consequently, 12-year-old Sadia was forced to marry a man nearly 30 years her senior, while 9-year-old Shami was married to a teenaged boy.

This system of dispute settlement, where women are used as currency, is considered traditional in some areas but can be held to violate a number of laws. These include legislation against underage marriages, specific protection for children and women, constitutional protection of human rights and the legislative freedom to consensual marriage.

Additionally, jirgas themselves were branded as unconstitutional by the Sindh High Court in 2004, which ruled that they usurp the power of the state. In the past, there have been many cases where jirga rulings have led to gross rights’ abuses. Almost invariably, the victims have been women and children, though men have suffered as well.

Jirgas have ordered murder, rape and public humiliation as ‘fitting’ punishment. These practices will not end until the state makes it a priority to take legal action against those who constitute the jirgas and those who implement unlawful punishments. It is time that laws that are available on the books are stringently enforced.


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