Woman Jirga makes inroads into Pakistan's old custom

SWAT

By Aamir Latif 

Rozina, 20, was set to tie the knot with a man she had never seen in the tourist valley of Swat a month ago under the rules of 'Sorah,' a centuries-old Pashtun custom by which women are married off as a way of settling tribal disputes.

The decision to give her hand to a man from an enemy family was mandated by a Jirga (tribal assembly) after her brother was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a local court for attacking and injuring a woman from that family.

As compensation, the aggrieved woman had demanded Rozina's hand for her son.

But Rozina was miraculously saved by a woman Jirga that intervened just in time, saving her from this uncertain fate.

"We approached the [injured] woman and invited her to our Jirga meeting, along with Rozina and her family," Tabbassum Adnan, founder and head of the 25-member woman Jirga that has so far resolved several disputes involving women in the Swat Valley, told Anadolu Agency.

"After hearing arguments from both sides, the Jirga appealed to the aggrieved woman to withdraw her demand as it was completely illogical and in contravention of Sharia," she added.

"We do not have guns or the economic influence that a traditional tribal Jirga enjoys, but we do have the power of Sharia and social influence to settle disputes," Adnan explained.

Religious scholars have time and again declared the custom un-Islamic.

However, it is still being followed in various parts of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkahawa (KP) province, which borders war-stricken Afghanistan.

The former government of the Muttehida Majlis-e-Amal, an alliance of six mainstream religious parties that ruled KP province from 2002 to 2007, had banned the practice.

But the ban could not be fully implemented due to the loose writ of the State in many remote areas.

- Victimized

Adnan, 36, hails from Mingora, the capital of Swat Valley, once the stronghold of the pro-Taliban Tehrik Nifaz-Sharia Mohammadi ('Movement for the Enforcement of Sharia'), which was ousted by a full-fledged military operation in 2009.

She says the ordeals of Sorah victims had motivated her to jump into Jirga business, which, in ethnic Pashtun culture – where women are usually confined to domestic affairs – is traditionally reserved for men.

"Innocent women are penalized under this custom for crimes they did not commit," lamented Adnan, who holds a bachelor's degree in arts.

"The men-led Jirgas do not listen to women who are handed over to men to settle disputes under this custom," added the mother of four. "Their decisions often go against women."

Swat-based journalist Shahzad Alam sees the formation of the woman Jirga as a good start, though he is skeptical about its influence.

"These kind of initiatives have surfaced on and off in KP and tribal areas, which attract the West because of women's participation, but they ultimately die down," he told AA, referring to two women candidates who had contested May general elections in the highly conservative Bajaur and Dir areas of neighboring Afghanistan.

The two women made local and international headlines for days, but only received a few hundred votes on election day.

"But Swat is more modern and urbanized compared to Dir and Bajaur," Alam explained.

"Here the literacy and employment rates are much higher," Alam said." Therefore, the chances for the survival of women Jirga are relatively higher, but still not very bright."

"Men's domination is too deep in Pashtun society," he added. "They (female Jirgas) have to strive hard to persuade men to accept their decisions. That's why I am watching this with hope."

- Disputed Jirga

But Noor Naz Agha, a Karachi-based lawyer and human rights activist, poured cold water on the entire experiment.

Like all human rights activists and organizations, she criticizes the Jirga system and accuses it of violating both the constitution and human rights.

"We do not support this (Jirga) system, whether led by men or women. This is completely in contravention of the constitution and is equal to a parallel judicial system," Agha told AA.

The Supreme Court, too, has declared the Jirga system illegal and the leaders of many Jirgas have been arrested on court orders.

However, in rural Pakistan, people still prefer to settle their disputes through the Jirga system so as to avoid a lengthy and costly litigation process.

"There could be some good aspects of the Jirga system, but, as a whole, it is based on coercion and devoid of constitutionality," insisted Agha, who is also the president of Pakistan's Women Lawyers Association.

"Therefore, we do not recognize any kind of Jirga – men or women," she said.

Saima Anwer, legal advisor for the Swat-based woman Jirga, disagrees.

"Jirga is not only a system, but a culture," she asserted.

"It is very much like an out-of-court settlement," Anwer, who heads the woman Jirga's legal affairs department, which provides legal assistance to women in court, told AA.

"It's not a typical Jirga where people are forced to accept our judgments," she said. "We do not pass judgments here; we simply work to resolve the dispute amicably."

Anwer is currently representing a woman whose daughter was murdered last year in the suburbs of Swat.

"We, too, oppose those Jirgas that function in contravention of the law and basic human rights, like forced marriages of women to settle high-profile disputes," she argued.

"We do not deal with murder, kidnap for ransom, or other hardcore crimes related to disputes," Anwer added. "Rather, we provide legal assistance in these types of cases if victims are women."

Although she has not received any threats from the Taliban or any other group for forming a woman Jirga, Adnan nevertheless feels insecure.

"No one has directly threatened me so far, but rumors are rife that the Taliban are not happy with the idea," she said.

Swat is also home to Malala Yusufzai, the world renowned education rights activist shot by the Taliban while on her way to school.

Malala is currently living in the UK where she was taken for surgery after the attack.

"There has been a mixed reaction from the area people [men]. Many are happy and many are not. Even my husband is not very supportive, although he doesn't oppose it either," said Adnan.

"I feel a little worried about my and my colleagues' security, but I am not scared," she went on confidently. "God willing, I will continue this mission."

englishnews@aa.com.tr