| "Pakistan is a true democracy" — Perv |
 MIANWALI: A marriage party returned without brides, as the cleric refused to sermonise nikah of two former vani women despite their khula from the Family Court.
| Got all that? The nikah's the marriage ceremony. Vani is where young women or girls are given in marriage as boot to seal a deal, usually unsavory. Khula is a civil or judicial (vice religious) divorce. And now for the background... |
In April 1985, Daudkhel police registered a case against Amanullah Khan, son of Sher Muhammad Khan, for killing Attaullah Khan, the son of Alam Khan, over a land dispute.
| Got all that? Daudkhels are a Pashtun subtribe, which explains why Amanullah's violent instincts overtook him and he bumped off Attaullah, who's now been moulderin' in the grave for 21 years... |
Amanullah absconded court for four years before being arrested.
Mianwali sessions court judge sentenced him to death.
"It's the high jump for you, Attaullah!"
"I'm Amanullah, yer honor! Attaullah's the dead guy!"
"Kinda like what you're gonna be?" |
Before his execution, elders and friends persuaded the aggrieved family to accept Rs 250,000 dyat
| ... that'd be wehrgeld, or blood money... |
and two vani girls for marrying the sons of the deceased.
| ... that'd be the underage nooky, to seal the deal. |
Elders sermonised their nikah of Kalsoom Bibi with Ikramullah Khan and Nusrat Bibi, 8, with Shafaullah, 12, in 1990, after which the convict, Amanullah, was freed.
| So now we're up to 16 years ago, and Kalsoom and Nusrat, probably both in the full bloom of pre-pubescent tribal womanhood at age 8, are married to two likely young relatives of Ataullah, neither of whom had anything to do with murder most foul. |
The girls stayed at their parentÂ’s house, as they were young at that time.
| Too young to actually get into... |
By the time, the girls graduated from the local college, while the grooms never went to school.
| Spent their time down at the mosque, talking about jihad and showing off their guns and such, I guess... |
After the girls graduated, groomsÂ’ family asked the girlsÂ’ parents to fulfill their promise, but the girls refused to marry illiterate men.
| Wanted the manage the girlies' careers for 'em... |
The girls went to police to save themselves from becoming the victim of vani.
| "We're gonna be stuck with those losers?" |
The girls said they went to police to seek protection, as the grooms had threatened to kidnap them.
| "Yaaarrrr! We're claimin' our property!" |
The grooms filed suits in the Family Court, which dismissed the suit and freed the girls under khula.
| "Right. Them. With you. Bailiff! Throw the losers out!" |
Elders again intervened to resolve the problem, as the groomsÂ’ family demanded Rs 700,000 diyat to free the girls.
| "We can't have 'em? Well, we can still manage their money. Give it to us." |
The groomsÂ’ family said they would avenge the death of Attaullah if they were not compensated.
| "Pay up, or we bump somebody off!" |
The girlsÂ’ parents after khula from the court arranged their marriage with other people, but at the time of nikah, the cleric refused to sermonise the nikah, saying that the girls could not have another nikah. He did not accept khula orders, saying the Family Court was not Qazi courts.
| "Nope. You gotta have a turban to divorce people. Everybody knows that." |
People say the incident should be a revelation for human right activist, who should act against vani to prevent such incidents from happening in the future. People demanded the National Assembly enact laws against such customs.
| Right. That fundos are gonna let that happen. |
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