Survey

Im also Gods Creation!!?

Survey Report of Women killed in Honor Killing and Violence against Women Cases in Kamber Shahdadkot District Sindh Pakistan
2004- 2009

By Sheikh Javed Ali Sindhi

Published By Saroh Social Development Organization Shahdadkot Saroh Office, Near Scientific Public School, Railway Station Road, Shahdadkot, District Kamber-Shahdadkot, Sindh, Pakistan- 77300 Ph: +92-74-4012896, Cell: +92-3337505896 E-mail: org.saroh@gmail.com 2012 1

Im also Gods Creation!!?

Survey Report of Women killed in Honor Killing and Violence against Women Cases in Kamber Shahdadkot District Sindh Pakistan
[2004- 2009] By Sheikh Javed Ali Sindhi
Kamber-Shahdadkot District is situated in the north-western corner of Sindh. It was formed on December 13, 2004. District Kamber-Shahdadkot is comprised of 7 Talukas, 20 Circles, 40 UCs, 70 Tapas and 269 Dehs. Its area is 5412.23 S.q Kilometers or 1336820 Acres. It has a population of 921721 people. About 98% DA Community is Muslim while 2% of the population belongs to Hinduism. Kalhora, Khuhawar, Gopang, Leghari, Jamali, Lashari, Magsis, Chandia, Khosa, Brahui and Samas are the main tribes residing here for last many centuries. Sindhi, Brahui, Siraeki and Balochi languages are commonly spoken here. People mostly cultivate lands, catch fish and rare cattle in the villages. They live in small mud houses of 2-3 rooms; each house accommodates 10-12 people of an extended family. Tribes here are led by tribal chiefs who are protectors of their life and property. The tribal chief follows the tribal code known as Rivaj which holds administrative and judiciary powers, thus state law remains dysfunctional here. All decisions are taken by the Jirga, a council of tribal male elders. The council tries cases of social and criminal nature. Women are barred from appearing before the Jirga and cannot influence its decision. Exchange marriages are common in which the brides brother is married to the grooms sister or vise-a-versa. This custom assumes to secure the marriage of the two couples. On the other hand unharmonious relations between one couple can lead to problematic relations amongst the other couple. Marriages are decided by elderly males of the family without taking consent of the couple. Girls are married as early as 11 years while boys are considered ready for marriage by age 15. Women are associated no status within the family here. The subordinate position of women limits their control over resources and benefits. She contributes to the family income by undertaking dual responsibility of farm and household work but this is not recognized. On an average women work 16 hours a day. Women have no role in decision-making, their opinion is rarely consulted; men of the family make all decisions. A womans mobility is restricted on the premise of modesty and protection from immoral activity. A familys honour is associated with the woman. If a woman loses her honour by choosing a partner who is considered unsuitable she can be killed! Each year 36 women are killed here in the name honour. Women bear 8-10 children; deficient health facilities and restriction in consulting male doctors results in the mortality rate of 5%. During childbirth reliance on elderly women of the family is the only hope for survival. Birth of a son is preferred over that of a girl. Present district Kamber-Shahdadkot including Larkana once was sacred and peaceful place for women during Indus Valley Civilization but now it is a feudal set-up area where tribal chiefs or Sardars are responsible for making all decisions that affect the life of their tribesmen. The local decision making council called the Jirga makes decisions on criminal and social crimes in the area. The Jirga comprises of elderly men of the tribe. Women have no influence over decisions taken by the Jirga; which is a male dominated council. Incase women are accused they cannot even appear in the Jirga to defend themselves. Cases of domestic violence, physical or sexual abuse and marriage of choice are also discussed and decided in the Jirga. According to facts and figures provided by Action Aid Pakistan 85% women in Kamber-Shahdadkot district suffer from domestic violence, 90% are succumbed to forced marriages, 45% girls are forced into child marriages, 65% girls drop-out from school because of child marriages! Over generations women have been socialized to accept that they have to live a life of submission to their fathers, brothers and husbands. The decision of the men in the family is final and no one can question it especially not the women. In short women have no legal rights; 90% women are unaware about their legal rights. News of Honor killing is a daily routine now. Many women have been killed in Kamber-Shahdadkot since the birth of the district in December 2004. Mostly these women were killed in following cases: Domestic violence, Honor killing, Inheritance, Murder, Tribal conflict and choice marriage etc. The victims names are given as under;

2004 01 Zarina Ghaloo, 28, village Gabar Kalhoro Miro Khan. 02 Haliman, 30, village Abdul Qadir Magsi, Qubo Saeed Khan. 03 Gul Taj, 20, village Mitho Khan Mastoi, Shahdadkot. 04 Ashraf Bhatti, 16, village Wali Muhammad Khan Bhatti, Shahdadkot. 05 Haliman, 30, village Abdul Qadir Magsi, Qubo Saeed Khan. 06 Zarina, 17, village Ali Murad Chandio, Shahdadkot. 07 Shahida, 22, village Aitbar Khan Chandio, Shahdadkot. 08 Dilshad, 43, village Wariyal Khan Jamali, Shahdadkot. 09 Razia, 44, village Wariyal Khan Jamali, Shahdadkot. 10 Noor Bano, 23, village Yar Muhammad Leghari, Shahdadkot. 11 Safooran, 20, village Meher-e-Ji Wandh, Miro Khan. 12 Zarina, 16, village Mir Ismael Magsi, Shahdadkot. 13 Azizan, 20, village Ghaibi Mastoi, Shahdadkot. 14 Shah Naz, 26, village Tilan Sakhani, Shahdadkot. 15 SaeedaShah, 25, Kamber. 16 Nihalan Sheikh, 28, Kamber. 17 Zainab Shah, 30, village Drigh, Kamber. 2005 01 Manzooran, 25, village Muhammad Hassan Magsi, Shahdadkot 02 Jamalan, 40, village Mir Gul Hassan Magsi, Qubo Saeed Khan 03 Rukhsana Bhatti, 25, village Wazir Bhatti, Shahdadkot / Mahrabpur Jamali 04 Farida, 18, village Meherban Pathan, Shahdadkot 05 Hakima, 28, village Bagh Palal, Shahdadkot 06 Fahmida, 16, village Bahleem, Miro Khan 07 Azizan, 33, village Misri Sangi, Miro Khan 08 Dhayani, 29, village Ghulam Abbass Leghari, Shahdadkot 09 Nazia Lodhi, 20, Drib Muhalla, Shahdadkot 10 Iqbal Khatoon, 36, Mehar Patoojo, Bahram, Miro Khan. 11 Sahiban Chandio, 26, Ghaibidero, Kamber. 2006 01 Jan Bibi, 17, village Yaki Khan Magsi, Qubo Saeed Khan 02 Mithan, 25, village Ali Dost Magsi, Qubo Saeed Khan 03 Zarnia, 16, village Kario Jamali, Qubo Saeed Khan 04 Safooran Rid, 25, Nasirabad 05 Zeba Mugheri, 22, village Ghulam Hyder Deero Kamber 06 Haliman Deenari, 30, Sijawal Junejo 07 Unknown women (found in briefcase), 13, Shahdadkot 08 Imtiaz Khatoon Abro, 16, village Gul Buriro Warah 09 Shamshad Khatoon, 20, Kamber 10 Siyani Chandio, 24, village Ghulam Hussain Chandio, Kamber 11 Hooran Chandio, 35, Village Ghulamullah Gaji Khuhawar, Warah 12 Husna, 19, village Gul Bahar Leghari, Shahdadkot. 2007 01 Mismat Sonari Chandio, 20, village Shahbeg Chandio Kamber 02 Unknown woman, 25, village Wazir Bhatti Shahdadkot / Mehrabpur Jamali 03 Sartaj Khatoon Buledi, 18, village Sher Muhammad Buledi Kamber 04 Hasina Chandio, 20, village Bagh Jagir Kamber

05 Dua Bengali, 25, village Mir Karam Khan Brohi, Qubo Saeed Khan 06 Rasheedan Brohi, 20, village Ghulam Ali Leghari, Shahdadkot 07 Sama Bibi Brohi, village Luqman Brohi, Sijawal Junejo 08 Laila Janwari, 20, village Ghulam Rasool Chandio Shahdadkot 09 Sakina Sheikh, 25, Latifabad Muhalla Shahdadkot 10 Jamila Brohi, 21 Mochi Muhalla, Shahdadkot / Manjhoo Shori 11 Unknown headless women, 25, Sukkur Wah area Shahdadkot 12 Mehraan Khatoon, 28, village Jhangal Magsi Bahram, Miro Khan 13 Ghulam Sakina, 22, village Ghulam Mustafa Rind, Qubo Saeed Khan 14 Farzana, 25, village Ashq Ali Magsi, Qubo Saeed Khan 15 Nilaan, 23, village Rais Ghulam Rasool Chandio, Qubo Saeed Khan 16 Gul Bibi, 17, village Wahid Dino Kalhoro, Miro Khan 17 Zuhran, 28, village Sanjrani Shikarpur / Shahdadkot 18 Zubeda, 16, Baqarabad Muhalla, Shahdadkot 2008 01 Marui Magsi, 22, village Umar Mangi Drighpur Kamber/Shahdadkot 02 Zeenat Brohi, 17, village Umed Ali Khan Junejo, Shahdadkot 03 Zebulnisa, 30, village Muhammad Pannah Magsi, Qubo Saeed Khan 04 Shah Pari Kharani, 15, Drib Muhalla, Shahdadkot 05 Parveen Jamali, 17, village Punhal Khan Jamali, Qubo Saeed Khan 06 Khalida, 23, village Rais Bhanbho Khan Chandio, Miro Khan 07 Ghulam Kubra Mastoi, 18, village Kamal Khan Mastoi, Shahdadkot 08 Hasina, 35, village Bhanbho Khan Bhatti, Shahdadkot 09 Tahsina, 28, village Ali Goher Chandio, Shahdadkot / Warah 10 Gunjan Chandio, 36, Warah. 2009 01 Musarat Sheikh, 25, Kamber 02 Zulekha Kharani, 38, village Pasand Khan Brohi, Shahdadkot 03 Unknown women, 21 found dead from Kur Dato near village Ahir Miro Khan 04 Babli Lashari, 20, Warah / Shahdadkot 05 Fouzia Soomro, 17, Martin Ababad Shahdadkot 06 Husna Silro, 40, village Silra Shahdadkot 07 Sakina Silro, 16, village Silra Shahdadkot 08 Musarat Khuhawar, 45, village Bharmi Miro Khan/ Drib Shahdadkot 09 Yasmeen Sheikh, 30, Dargah Sharif Muhalla, Shahdadkot 10 Zamiran Bhand, 18, village Jandeh Shahdadkot 11 Benazir Chandio, 20, Mehar Ja Dara / Qubo Haji Marri /Qubo Saeed Khan 12 Sughera Chandio, 23, village Noor Muhammad Magsi, Miro Khan 13 Shakro Bhatti, 40, village Khan Muhammad Bhatti, Shahdadkot. 14 Farzana Brohi, 10, village Yar Muhammad Brohi, Shahdadkot 15 Husna, 28, Maulvi Abdul Qadir Magsi, Qubo Saeed Khan 16 Dur Khatoon, 35, village Sanwan Khan Brohi, Qubo Saeed Khan 17 Zainab, 28, village Sukhio Brohi, Qubo Saeed Khan. 18 Ghulam Fatima Harho, 25, Faiz Illahi School Muhalla, Shahdadkot. 19 Maryam Chandio, 35, Kamber.

20 Wadan Mugheri, 26, Kamber. 21 Mukhtiar Brohi, 27, village Ali Bux Panhwar, Kamber 22 Munawar Khatoon Magsi, 22, village Akbar Magsi, Miro Khan What to do? Government is responsible to control womens killing in any form of violence .NGOs can play an important role in this regard also. In countryside, Community meetings should be arranged to end VAW and Honor Killing .In community meetings the women will express their concerns about issues like domestic violence, marriage of choice, divorce, property, conflicts and early marriages that affect their lives. They cannot raise their voice or complain about such issues openly. They have no one to turn to for support. Beijing Conference of 1995 identified following strategic objectives of the 12 areas of concern regarding women:

Women and Poverty Education and Training of women Women and Health Violence against women Women and Armed Conflict Women and Economy Women in Power and Decision Making Institutional Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women Human Rights of women Women and the Media Women and the Environment The Girl Child

Environment The first step is to provide women an environment where they could freely talk about their issues. This can be done through awareness sessions in villages with groups of women. These sessions should be conducted by a woman expert on legal rights. The sessions provide an opportunity of catharsis to the participants. Through various ice-breaking activities the facilitator may build a comfort level and the participants can vent their feelings for the first time. The facilitators provide them emotional support and talk about legal aspects of issues raised by women. Legal Aid The second step is to provide Legal Aid to women. The detailed sessions on legal rights of women also should focus on informing women about their legal rights to divorce, property and marriage. These sessions will be very helpful to initiate the discussion and thinking process amongst the women about their right to justice. In this way, the facilitators can conduct these sessions with the view to:

Build understanding of women on their legal rights Enable women to identify their rights being violated Strengthen women to raise their voice against violation of their rights.

The facilitator can also go into details of the Muslim Family Law Ordinance. This law provides women provision to protect themselves from any violations. Working on legal rights of women cannot be done in isolation. The ones who are the decision-makers need to be involved and hence it would be better to plan to set meetings with community men. Sessions can be planned in different villages to educate men about the rights of women. At first it seems very hard for men to accept women as their equal. However through intensive discussions and trust on an organization the ice can be broken and in this way men would begin to realize that women need to have legal support incase their rights are violated. Sessions with men and women and informal discussions with women groups will increase the awareness amongst the community about women rights. In this result child marriages will be reduced and the girls will be enrolled in schools.

 Working on legal rights of women cannot be done in isolation. The ones who are the decision-makers needed to be involved and hence it would be better to plan to set meetings with community men. Sessions can be planned in different villages to educate men about the rights of women. At first it seems very hard for men to accept women as their equal. However through intensive discussions and trust on an organization the ice can be broken and in this way men would begin to realize that women need to have legal support incase their rights are violated. Sessions with men and women and informal discussions with women groups will increase the awareness amongst the community about women rights. In this result child marriages will be reduced and the girls will be enrolled in schools. Recommendations a) Womens killings and murders should be taken seriously and Police, Government Institutions and Courts should research on such incidents. b) The concerned institutions should report these incidents honestly and highlight realities. c) Legal aid support should be provided to victim women and their parents. d) No favors should be given to accused involved in Honor killings. e) On the pointing out of newspapers and other sources Police, Government Departments and Courts should take self initiatives for women killings and their murders. For achieving good results there is great need of honest officers who should monitor the cases with full interest. f) A System should be developed to report, monitor and highlight womens issues. g) Laws should be prepared and implemented for of womens development. h) Feudal and Sadards should be punished who promote Jirga system. i) Civil society organizations and media should be given assistance and cooperation in We Can End Honour Killing Campaigns in the district areas.

References Police Station Record Qubo Saeed Khan Post Mortem record of Taluka Hospital Shahdadkot General Register of Taluka Hospital Kamber Daily Sindh Tribune Karachi