Minors Given Away For Marriages:
On May 27, 2006, Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, a member of the National Assembly and the Pakistan Peoples Party, presided over a jirga at Kamal Magsi village located between Jacobabad and Kashmore distr
icts. The jirga was called to resolve a case of honor killing in which a man belonging to a Bunglani tribe was killed 9 years ago. Giving its verdict the jirga ordered the family of the accused to give the deceased’s family their 5 daughters who were between the ages 2 and 8 for marriages.
The decision sent wave of protest and uproars in the Sindh media. Because of the heightened uproars the country’s Supreme Court got involved and took a serious note of the jirgas in Sindh. The Chief Justice of Pakistan ordered further inquiry into the matter. Essentially the police found the jirga members guilty of the crime of giving away minor girls. However those convicted of the crime are yet to be arrested and brought to courts to face charges.
Reference: Report on Human Rights – Violations in Sindh, Pakistan (Jan-June 2006)
