About 400 years after it was first introduced, Swara - the practice of forcefully marrying of girls, even minors, to resolve feuds between clans - continues in Pakistan's north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
Off late, a number of such incidents have come to light in the picturesque Swat valley, a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban.
Swara is a child marriage custom in tribal areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. It is tied to blood feuds among the different tribes and clans.
Young girls are forcibly married to members of different clans in order to resolve the feuds. Swara is also known as Sak, Vani and Sangchatti in different regional languages of Pakistan.
The custom started almost 400 years ago when two northwestern Pakistani Pashtun tribes fought a bloody war against each other. However, fresh cases of Swara surfaced in Swat where five girls, including two minors, were given given away in Kalam
and Matta tehsils of Swat district.
Acording to sources, Farzana had married Laiqzada in Bazkhela locality in the Matta Tehsil, in what wastermed as "love marriage".
A Jirga was held to settle the dispute between the two families which decided that six-year-old sister of Laiqzada would be married off to Farzana's brother Habibullah, son of Mohammad Iqbal.
Police moved into action and registered a case against six persons, including Maulana Fazal Jamil, who had solemnised the
marriage, Habibullah, Sherzada, Muhammad Iqbal, Sulaiman and Salar. Maulana Fazal Jamil and Habibullah were arrested while four persons escaped.
Raids were being conducted to nab the other accused. Another four girls, including a minor, were given in Swara for settling two honour-related disputes in the Kalam Tehsil.The decisions were made by two separate Jirgas held near the Kalam Bazaar.
The members of the first Jirga decided to give in Swara Farazia, daughter of Khan Gul, to Mohammad Sadiq, son of Abdul Khaliq. The 10-year-old granddaughter of Khan was given in Swara to grandson of Abdul Khaliq. The Jirga also imposed a fine of Rs 200, 000 on Khan Gul.
In another case, a youth, son of Jalandar Shah, had a love marriage with Shazia, daughter of Abdul Malik. A jirga was held to decide the dispute.The members of the jirga decided to give as Swara the 22-year-old daughter of Jalandar Shah to son of Abdul Malik.
It also decided to give in Swara the granddaughter of Jalandar Shah to any other male family member of Abdul Malik.
The jirga also imposed a fine of Rs 350, 000 on Jalandar Shah. Besides the fresh cases, on September 5, police arrested
seven out of nine accused jirga members who had sealed the fate of a minor girl by giving her in Swara to settle a dispute between two families in the Shah Dheri area in Swat.
On September 15,?Kalokot police foiled an attempt to give away a girl in Swara in Ragstoon, Matta tehsil, Swat and arrested seven people, including a jirga elder.Police said they received a tip-off that a jirga was being held in Ragstoon which planned to marry off six-year-old Hasina in swara to eight-year-old Imran, son of Akbar Ali.
Supreme Court lawyer Aizaz ur Rehman said the practice is totally against the constitution of Pakistan and openly violates fundamental rights. Under the Swara tradition, women and girls were punished for the deeds not committed by them. It is illegal, the lawyer added.
