Pakistan in Media

Opinionated Media Coverage

Still no right to choose

Bookmark and Share

Editorial,The News International, Pakistan
Saturday, May 30, 2009

Even a decade after the Supreme Court ruled that an adult woman had a right to choose her spouse, the issue lingers on. The latest case to come up before the LHC involves Kulsoom Baloch, a 25-year-old who has a post-graduation degree, and her husband Fazal Abbas. Abbas and his family have faced repeated harassment since he wed Ms Baloch last year. The LHC ruled after hearing his wife that the latest FIR lodged against him, accusing him of kidnapping Kulsoom, was false and ordered that he be released from police custody. The court upheld the right of the couple to live where they please.

The question is whether they will be allowed to. Kulsoom Baloch's family has made it obvious they are ready to go to any length to prevent this. In the past, couples have faced death for doing nothing more than choosing their partners in marriage despite court rulings in their favour. The problem too is that the police are often unwilling to protect such couples, or succumb to bribery and the use of influence on the part of families desperate to thwart them. Couples have found they must flee the country to be safe. Even Saima Waheed, the young woman whose decision to marry her tutor led to the landmark victory being delivered in favour of 'love' marriages by the apex court, today lives overseas. In the most recent case, the LHC has offered Ms Baloch security. But this cannot be practical over a long period of time. There have been cases in which revenge has been extracted by families years after the marriage. The core issue is that of attitude. Women continue to be treated as possessions, whose lives are controlled by male relatives. The hold of patriarchy in society needs to be challenged. To do so, orders must be given to officials at local level. They must also be made aware of the law and their duty to uphold it – so they can be dissuaded from playing a part in actions that cause so much suffering to people who have not committed any crime.

Source

Labels: ,

posted @ 9:47 AM,

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home


Enter your email address: