Silent sufferers
Friday, June 12, 2009
Dawn, Pakistan
Thursday, 11 Jun, 2009
FORCED marriages are abhorrent in any situation but the practice becomes appalling when it involves underage children. Though the country’s laws recognise the marriage of underage girls as a crime, this practice remains widespread and constitutes a telling indictment of the manner in which women are victimised and basic human rights trampled in feudal social structures. More shocking perhaps is the fact that in Sindh’s Umerkot district there now exist brokers who link up buyers with parents — mostly fathers — willing to sell their daughters. ‘Marriage’ under such circumstances amounts clearly to selling a child into a life of slavery and all manner of abuse. Fuelled by poverty and ignorance though it may be, the practice is detestable. And yet it is only one of the many ways in which this country’s women are victimised. It is well known that in many parts of the country, women and young girls are bartered to settle disputes or discharge debts. Meanwhile, the trafficking of women and their sale into anything from prostitution to semi-slavery — often given the nominal cover of ‘marriage’ — continue unchecked. The state makes the right noises from time to time but nothing changes.
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Labels: Forced Marriages, Pashtun Culture, Plight of Women, Society, Women's Rights
posted @ 9:56 AM,
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