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She looked at herself with flaming red eyes as if she wanted to spit out her body. She is taught to blame her body for being a potential threat to her life.
This young girl is Meeran who lives in Khosa Goth, a small village in Kandiyaro and Darbelo in
district Naushehro Feroze. In this village a 13-day-old girl was recently declared kari and put to death.
HONOUR KILLINGS :
The stories are, tragically, plentiful: In an interview with a young woman last month, it was revealed that she had fled from her village in Khairpur district because tribal elders there declared her “kari.” The reasons for charges, it turns out, were that her husband and father-in-law levelled false charge because they were opposed to her being a schoolteacher.
The woman, Rozina, who belongs to Ujan tribe, told she had been forced to leave Sukh Wahan village in taluka Gambat after her husband, Sadiq Ujan, charged her with having an affair with a 15-year-old boy and threatened to kill her. Rozina Ujan said she and Sadiq are cousins who were married only five months ago, and that she was now pregnant.
The woman, who is in her mid-20s, said she had received secondary education, and her husband and his father, Naik Mohammad, charged her with being a “kari” after failing to pressure her into leaving her job at a private school in Sukh Wahan.
The woman said she and boy, Sheral, were found innocent at a tribal jirga convened on March 13 after her husband levelled charge against her on March 4.
But tribal elders held another jirga on March 28, which denounced her and Sheral as “kari” and “karo,” she added. The jirga ordered boy’s family to pay a fine of Rs 80,000 to family of her husband, who had asked him to divorce his wife. But although Sadiq Ujan complied, she decided to come to Karachi because she still felt her life to be in danger.
Four-month pregnant Ms Ujjan said: "I was standing outside my home with my sister when a 15-year-old boy of neighbours also came over there. My husband saw boy standing near us and he made it an issue for nothing."
There are lot of girls who are declared "Kari", but still not killed called "DOHI" get refuge in so-called safe house" called "KOT" of feudal lards where they are totally at mercy of area king who and his henchmen use and abuse them which is not very difficult to imagine.The sitting Chief Minister(CM) is on record to have statement that he like to kill all Kari-s(Monthly Herald,Karachi).It's well establish fact that majority of that type of killing occur in area to which incumbent CM belong,tribal clashes between Mehar (CM belong to this tribe) and Almani clan which resulted in numbers of deaths on Shaista Almani marriage issue.His clan have one of largest "KOT" where hundreds of innocent girls are dumped with out any cry,just like silent birds with severely wounded wings.
The present law protect accused in honor killing because it said that emotions,personal and family honor forced persons to do this act in fits,so it's a bail able offence.This law was introduced by British colonial rulers.
The meaning of "KARO-KARI",it consist of two words,the first KARO means male person and second one KARI stand for female accuse.The both are called black and they are liable to death according to this tradition.
In a recent report prepared by Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). The centuries-old customary murders, popularly known as Karo-kari (honour-killing) in Sindh claimes more than 400 lives every year.
FEUDAL IN POLITICS:
Not only in Sindh, but also in Pakistan generally, working for Human rights, and/or Women’s rights, or any injustice in society is responded to by authorities as though advocate is a criminal. Thus, many human rights workers are either killed, commit suicide, or are forced into exile. For past many years, families belonging to feudal and wadera classes have been ruling country, whereas poor and oppressed people are not only deprived of their basic rights but also of right to rule. The country’s fundamentalist forces and Army Generals are protectors of this medieval feudal system; therefore, they are against those who speak against oppression.
Similarly, status of women’s education in Sindh is deplorable. For feudal landlords, there are few – if any - benefits that could arise from having educated serfs. The landlords know that education of “serfs” can only lead to downfall of their perverse social system, as educated men and women will not tolerate to be treated like slaves. For this reason, landlord class has opposed universal primary education from very beginning of Sindh’s history, and to this day, their efforts have succeeded. Rural Sindh, which is heart of feudal system, has an almost non-existent education system, especially for girls. The female literacy rate in Sindhi villages was only 13% in 1997 census.
The prevalent feudal system in country has polarized every dimension of human life, especially with regards to treatment of women. Until this changes, country can neither progress or prosper.
WHAT CAN BE DONE :
In terms of possibility for women’s rights to be achieved in Sindh and rest of Pakistan, it should by now be clear to any and all interested in issue that question of women’s rights belongs to realm of democratic and human rights. Given fragility of democratic process in Sindh and in Pakistan as a whole, only groups with a long-term stake in institutionalisation of such rights are most oppressed strata in Pakistan society - that is, producing classes. These are also only classes capable of creating a genuine democracy in Pakistani context. It is to an alliance with these classes that women must turn if they are to ensure their rights. This is by no means an easy task. Proponents of human rights must also demand a secular society. As long as religion continues to be interlinked with State, any gains we achieve will be incomplete.
