hmmm… what?
Pakistanis Order Betrothal of 2-Year-Old
21Feb2005 Filed under: Uncategorized Author: ValWho do they think they are? That poor little girl, no one has a right to do this.
Pakistanis Order Betrothal of 2-Year-Old
Associated Press/AP Online
Feb 21, 02:29 PM
MULTAN, Pakistan – A tribal council in Pakistan has ordered the betrothal of a 2-year-old girl to a man 40 years older to punish her uncle for an alleged affair with the man’s wife, police said Monday.
The council decreed the girl must marry 42-year-old Mohammed Altaf, her uncle’s cousin, when she turns 18, police said.
Altaf, a farmer, divorced his 32-year-old wife over her alleged love affair with his 20-year-old cousin, Mohammed Akmal. Akmal, a bachelor and also a farmer, has no children.
Altaf asked tribal elders in the village of Kacha Chohan, about 215 miles west of the city of Multan in Punjab province, to convene a panchayat, or council, on Feb. 15 to arbitrate and propose a punishment. As punishment, the elders ordered the girl’s betrothal and ruled Akmal should also pay a $3,800 fine to the husband.
Village councils in conservative rural regions of Pakistan traditionally rule on local disputes including those involving a family’s “honor” purportedly being besmirched by allegations of improper sexual behavior. The councils can dictate harsh – and sometimes illegal – punishments.
In 2002, another village council near Multan ordered a woman gang-raped as punishment for her brother’s sexual relations with another woman. A court later convicted six men who perpetrated the rape and sentenced them to death. They are appealing the sentences.
Police chief Maqsoodul Hassan said an investigation has been started into the case involving the 2-year-old girl, but they have made no arrests as no one had filed a complaint.
None of the parties to the dispute could be reached for comment Monday.
Rashid Rahman, a lawyer and Multan-based coordinator with the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, condemned the village council’s decision.
“These types of panchayats are illegal and nobody has the right to take a decision about a child’s life,” he said. “This country has its legal system and all decisions should be taken under it.”
He said that the betrothal of a minor did not itself break the law, but forcing a woman to marry against her will carried a maximum 14-year jail sentence. Underage marriage is also illegal but is only punishable by a fine.
I mean, even if they had the right to impose such a sentence, that little girl did nothing wrong! It wasn’t even her father who committed adultery, it was her uncle! And people think the death penalty by lethal injection is cruel and inhumane punishment? I laugh. This is ridiculous.
A real post later… I’m going on 12 hours of having this headache. Gah. :(
11 Responses to “Pakistanis Order Betrothal of 2-Year-Old”
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anneberit
February 21st, 2005 at 3.14 pm
Sometimes I wonder what make people think this is a right way to rule…. The honor of a person seems to be more valuable than a childs life (girl, I might add). It is just wrong I so agree with you on that!
anneberit
February 21st, 2005 at 3.15 pm
On a lighter note: hope your headache just runs away real soon!!! :)
Jay
February 21st, 2005 at 4.16 pm
It’s hard to put myself in their shoes and think that this is a fair way of doing things. I respect other people’s cultures and different ways of life, but there are some things about the world I can never accept.
Vera
February 21st, 2005 at 4.36 pm ♥
I sometimes wonder what other people think. It’s like they don’t have a brain in their head. It’s so annoying to think that way. This post is so wrong… what if you rule? I see no point to it… >__
Vera
February 21st, 2005 at 4.36 pm ♥
PS: yicks.. is it just me? Or does it look like my comment got chopped off? :|
letti
February 21st, 2005 at 4.58 pm
geez, poor kid…sounds barbarian
Drea
February 21st, 2005 at 7.46 pm ♥
And yet again I’m reminded of my luck in life and take a second out to say thanks for my freedom. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to live with that kind of absolution or lack of choice. :(
Hope the headache took a hike – I’ve been getting them lately at work staring at computer screens again and they’re no fun :(. Gotta love Anadin Extra, hehe.
Jesse
February 21st, 2005 at 7.59 pm ♥
You’ve got to wonder about the logic of some people… the girl who was gang raped was at NO fault… so why did they allow that to happen? I usually try to refrain from comments that are even vaguely racist, but you’ve just got to wonder about Middle Eastern logic and religion sometimes… *sigh* I hope your headache goes away, Sweetie. They do put a damper on your day, don’t they? *hugs*
Nicole
February 21st, 2005 at 9.34 pm
Those people were truly innocent and should not be violated in those kinds of ways. What does gang raping a girl do, or forcing a child to marry at the age of eighteen have to do with any of it? They’re punishing people that weren’t involved and that’s pretty pathetic. I can’t stand this sort of thing and certain ways some of these people in this article act.
Victoria
February 22nd, 2005 at 7.52 am ♥
I always think this is terrible, wherever it happens in the world, that someone should be punished for something that someone else did. It’s even worse when a child is punished for something that a family member has done.
Last year I used to go to the Amnesty International letter-writing sessions at university, but I’m so busy now, although I still try my best to be aware of various campaigns.
anoymous
August 27th, 2005 at 10.43 pm
It is likewise barbaric to prey on 14 year olds through “legal” porno sites, and for hundreds of teenagers to end up as mothers without fathers. But it’s always OTHER people’s injustices that feel worse. We get used to our own.