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June 28, 2006

Pakistan: Muslim Child Bride For Sale, No Previous Owners

Once more, the truly appalling way that many Muslims view the rights of girls is highlighted in a case reported in the Pakistan Daily Times. A 13-year old girl has been offered for sale, by her stepfather, Anjum Bhatti. Bhatti, a resident of Bazaar Icchra, Lahore, owed a friend 16,000 rupees ($266). He had no funds to pay back the money owed.

So he decided to not only give away his step-daughter, but decided to turn a profit for himself. For an extra 14,000 rupees ($233), he would give his friend Muhammad Ramzan the hand of the girl in marriage. Though officially it is illegal to marry a girl this young, Ramzan wanted the child for his sexual needs. Though in a normal society such an aspect of a person's physique should not be an issue, but Muhammad Ramzan was extremely short, described by the Daily Times as a "midget".

On Tuesday, Ramzan arrived at Bhatti's house, with a retinue of 40 people from his village, Rarianwala Chowk Icchra, who were to be wedding guests. Bhatti said he wanted the money first, before he parted with his chattel.

Ramzan gave him the money, and then Bhatti scarpered with the cash. But Ramzan had parted with the money, so he now had "rights" to marry Hina, the 13-year old girl.

However, Hina was not going to be married willingly, and refused to sign the Nikah or marriage contract. When pressured to sign, she began screaming. This alerted her biological mother, Rukshana, who had been unaware of her husband's plot to sell her child. Rukshana Bhatti called the police.

There followed a shouting match, with Ramzan's friends shouting at Rukshana, and also neighbours who had turned up to find out what was going on. Rushana's brother, Hani's uncle, arrived, and said that he would pay back the money which was owed by Bhatti, and that which had been stolen.

The wedding party only left, taking the money, when the police arrived. Rukshana filed charges against her husband, but earlier today Anjum Bhatti came back home, and offered apologies. Bizarrely, despite the trauma he had caused, Rukshana withdrew the charges.

The Pakistan Human Rights Commission (HCRP) condemned the incident and demanded the arrest of "the culprit".

If the law states that a child of thirteen cannot be married, and also states that it is illegal to give away a girl in vani (compensation) marriage, then not only Bhatti but Muhammad Ramzan, and all his 40 wedding guests, are also complicit in denying a child of her basic rights.

We wrote on May 28 that in Pakistan, girls are mere chattels in many rural communities. They are expected in many cases to marry people they do not desire, often under the legal age of consent, and when they fail to live up to standards expected of them, they run the risk of being murdered in honour killings. HCRP states that every year, between 1,000 and 1,500 such murders take place. Many are never reported.

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at June 28, 2006 9:31 PM

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Posted by: Always On Watch at June 30, 2006 7:06 AM

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