SWAT – A 9-year-old girl was forcibly married with a 32-year-old man in Swat Manglor area, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, under the orders of a local jirga.
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According to police, the girl had been abducted by her uncle, Syed Rehman, four months prior to the marriage. Following the jirga’s decision to “give” the young girl in marriage, the wedding was carried out despite her tender age. Authorities have launched an investigation into the case.
The incident comes shortly after a similar case in Attock, where a 12-year-old girl was forcibly married to a 70-year-old man by her stepfather. In Swat, police have registered a case against ten individuals, including the officiant of the marriage, for coercing the minor into wedlock. Hazro police arrested the groom, Naim, along with four of his siblings and four other associates, totaling nine arrests.
In the Attock case, the stepfather, Tayyab, was also taken into custody, while the officiant of that forced marriage remains at large.
This case highlights ongoing concerns regarding the misuse of local jirgas to enforce illegal and unethical practices. Last year, police had registered a case against Asmat Ullah Khan, chief of a local jirga in Rawalpindi’s Fauji Colony, in connection with the murder of Sidra Arab, allegedly carried out on jirga orders. Khan admitted during investigations to transporting a Kalashnikov rifle to Muzaffarabad and entering Sidra’s second husband’s home with accomplices.
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Authorities have called for stricter monitoring of jirga practices and enforcement of child protection laws to prevent such violations, emphasizing the need to safeguard minors from forced marriages and other abuses.