A local jirga has decided to kill a woman's two husbands — one whom she married for love, and the other whom her father forced her to marry without divorcing the first.
| Seems like if they were going to bump off anyone it would be Pop... |
Teenaged Kiran had previously rebelled against the same jirga when it wanted to return her to a husband selected by the toss of a coin.
| "Tails! The guy with the green turban gets her! Next case!" |
Kiran told Daily Times it was customary to bring potential marriage proposals to the jirga that often decided a woman's fate by tossing a coin in a difficult decision. When this happened to her, she refused to accept the jirga's decision and instead married a young man, called Naseem, whom she loved.
However, Kiran said her father, Abdul Lateef, later forced her to marry a man named Muhammad Boota. The fact that she was already married did not make any difference to him, she said. After torture and threats to her life, Kiran said she agreed to marry Boota without even getting divorced.
"Abdul! What're you doing with our daughter! Put those pliers down!"
"Buzz off, woman! We're discussing her love life!" |
The case of the concurrent marriages was then brought to the jirga, which concluded that both husbands had violated Hudood laws. Therefore, it was held that the culprits be awarded capital punishment. Both husbands are reportedly at large.
"You can have her! I'm gettin' outta here!"
"I'll go with you!" |
The jirga decision, however, did not fare that well with the community. Most local imams condemned it in their sermons, and angry conversations have gone on endlessly at every street corner. People thought the jirga had gone beyond the guidelines prescribed by both religion and the law of the land. Local MP Gulshan Riaz Malik demanded the government arrest the members of the jirga for conspiracy to murder. Civil society representatives and other community leaders were prominent among others who were vocal about their resentment with the jirga's decision. |