Ending wani, swara and ‘marriage to the Quran’: why law alone is not enough
A fresh op-ed in Dawn has put Pakistan’s most stubborn social customs back on the table — customs it says should be treated as national handicaps. Wani and swara, in which girls or women are given away to settle bloody disputes, and the so-called “marriage” to the Holy Quran, kept alive under the cover of religion.
The writer, an educationist, argues that laws banning these practices exist — but their implementation is “weak and inconsistent”, in some areas virtually non-existent. The piece makes the case that a woman’s share in inheritance is the most effective route to her financial security, and that girls’ education must be presented as a religious obligation, amplified from every platform.
Where the law stands
The legal framework is, in fact, in place. Wani was banned through the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2004, and the Prevention of Anti-Women Practices Act 2011 covers the broader set of customs. Ghag — the practice of staking a claim on a woman — was criminalised under the KP Elimination of Custom of Ghag Act 2013.
The Supreme Court’s recent judgment
A recent Supreme Court judgment adds weight to the argument. A three-member bench led by Justice Hashim Khan Kakar held, in a nine-page judgment, that a woman’s “No” is not provocation — refusal aggravates the offence. The court condemned ghag, swara/wani, watta satta, ala kacho and telefia, dismissed Muhammad Kamran’s review petition and upheld his death sentence for killing Mst Memoona Shaheen after her family rejected his proposal.
The real question is why these customs survive in tribal cultures despite the law. The answer is simple: the law lives in the books, while the customs live in mindsets. Until inheritance, education and women’s financial autonomy are secured at the societal level, statutes will remain on paper.
This analysis concludes that change cannot travel through punishment alone — it must pass through education, awareness and economic empowerment. When a girl studies, earns, and receives her share of inheritance, customs like swara will finally wither away.
