May 13, 2024
By Anwar Annum
SWAT:
A 70-year-old man married a 13-year-old girl in Nagoha area of Barikot Tehsil in Swat district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He has eight children and several grandchildren.
The girl, a student of grade six, informs Voicepk that she found out about her marriage to the old man on her way back from school. “When I reached home, my family told me to dress up as I had an event to attend.”
She adds, “I don’t know what marriage is. I will never marry this old man.”
The registrar has issued the marriage certificate signed by witnesses. The police have arrested four people, including the 70-year-old groom, the girl’s parents and two witnesses. Nikahkhawan obtained bail from the court before arrest.
District Police Officer Dr Zahidullah, while talking to Voicepk, says that marrying a 13-year-old girl is a legal offense, and the accused will be brought to justice.
Tabassum Adnan, chairperson of a jirga that works for women’s rights in Swat, says her organisation has handled many cases of marriage of under-aged girls. “The rate of under-aged marriages is increasing in Swat. Strict measures must be taken urgently to prevent such a crime.”
She thinks that it is cruel for an old man to marry a 13-year-old girl. “If a 70-year-old person dies, then what will be fate of this innocent girl? Will her family marry her off again to another old man?”
Peshawar High Court lawyer Asadur Rahman says, there is no clear law for child marriage in KP.