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Sindhi women publicly announce their free-will marriages

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Summary of story from dawn.com, September 3, 2011

Young women from Sindh in Paskistan frequently publish announcements in local newspapers declaring their intention to marry of their own free will.

The province is widely known for honour killings and forced marriages, but in a bold move, the women have begun using public announcements to deter or contradict allegations that they have been kidnapped or committed adultery.

These free-will marriages, which are made under religious oath, can appear up to eight or nine times a day in the local press.

The men and women belong to a wide range of districts, tribes and castes of Sindh, including Hindu communities – although most do not come from affluent families.

Despite these public declarations, however, the police rarely take note of, or act on, these announcements, sometimes even registering kidnapping cases on the parents’ behalf, according to social worker Lala Hassan Pathan.

However, according to women’s rights activist Arfana Mallah, the attitude of the lower judiciary towards women is changing, and lawyers are now able to go to court with these statements without needing the support of NGOs or influential members of civil society.

On the other hand, she says, the publication of these announcements may also act as a provocation, and have sometimes been followed by the woman’s death.

Using the media is a double-edged sword for the women of Sindh; the same declarations that can save them from honour killings can also leave them vulnerable to even more angry reprisals.

  1. DR SHAH MURAD MASTOI says:

    Oh my God !!!!!!

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