Panchayat in Rural Pakistan (Research) - year 2009

INTRODUCTION

The issue of “violence against women by the rural and tribal heads in the remote areas of Pakistan” is prevailing for a long time and has reached to a point where it is openly administered by the powerful and rich and is overlooked by the state or the state bodies. The violence varies from battering, rape, gang rape to, childhood marriage, forced marriages, marrying Quran (the Holy Book) buying, selling and killing of innocent women / girls. As far as the role of civil society is concerned, it is sometimes provoking it and sometimes inhibiting it. The violence is prevailing at the domestic and public level. The legal rights of women are being violated in the name of law, honour and religion. However, a few vocal, forceful and influential elements of the civil society are playing a vital role in highlighting and criticising the unlawful and unjust attitude of the rural heads towards women living in the below mentioned areas of Pakistan. However, there is no denying the fact that there are similarities among the rural women of other developing or under developed countries that are too suppressed and their rights are being violated on frequent bases by their own men. As Ilika in his article ‘Women's Perception of Partner Violence in a Rural Igbo Community’ explains “the perception of male dominance and female subordination to the man has been observed in many parts of other developing countries” (pp: 81 2005).

This essay will deal with the issues that how these local bodies are working and what sort of social relation they have with the victims? What is being done and what is suppose to be done considering modernity? What is the place of these women in the society and her social relationship with men? Furthermore, the ideology and vision of these women will be highlighted in the paper as well. The role of civil society will be seen in this regard and the factors will also be examined that have the potential to trigger change with reference to time, gender and space.

The essay will first give an overview of the rural and remote setups of Pakistan. The status, role, working and authority of the rural heads and the village councils will be explained followed by the execution of the judgements that is being meted out. The role of women living in that society and the type of violation of rights they face by these council heads. The role of state and the civil societies will be discussed and later on case studies will be incorporated. The paper will discuss the shot comings in the system and the major issues that are contradictory in the working and authority of the state and the civil society. Moreover, the reason will be examined as why these issues have not been dealt with? Then the conclusion will be drawn on the bases of what is being done and what could have been done? Jurgen Habermas says that modernity imposes a distinctive context of communications that undermines the stability of traditional life worlds and holds out a largely unfulfilled promise of rationality. (Harris pp:671-6 83)

OVERVIEW OF REMOTE RURAL AND TRIBAL SETUP IN PAKISTAN

Pakistan is a developing society, and like every other developing society it still has communities living in tribal and remote rural areas. The prevailing customs and rituals there are outdated that disgrace modernity and neither religious nor humane in nature. Women are looked down upon and inferior to men and they have to sacrifice in the name of honour. These rural setups function as a close community and do not like outside interference. The tribes or the rural setups have heads acting as the honouree bodies and they have their own rules of giving justice. These heads are usually elderly men of that area, chosen either by the people living there or there nomination is hierarchal. The point to be emphasised make here is that these heads are not elected bodies of the state. But, sometimes they have political links or are themselves members of the parliament, so they have the influence on the local administrative bodies chosen by the state. Thus, being in the outskirts and having least interference of the state they rule these areas and take full advantage of the self-proclaimed power.

The local bodies are known as village council, the panchayat and jirga . They are headed by men who handle all kind of matters in the village. In British Raj panchayats were created to deal with the civil matters and petty offenses. The heads were given comparatively insignificant executive powers and were given administrative duties. This system is still running in India and was established by Jawaharlal Nehru in the post colonial era. He formed it for the devolution of power which he thought might encourage the self-reliance and improve the function of the state. However in India these panchayat are elected bodies and function under panchayati system. As Hiebert states, "panchayats are more a procedure for reaching consensus than an institution for determining legal decisions” (1971:101-2).

It is a famous belief that Islam or religion plays an important role in the decisions of panchayat /jirgas. But on the contrary, these decisions have no relationship with religion; nevertheless religion is being exploited in many ways to enforce power. Tohidi's examines how people modify religious teachings and practices as circumstances change. In gender as well as other arenas, “Islamic rules have been selectively applied, emphasized, ignored, or circumvented in accordance with the individual or group interests and current realities of each area” (Women in Muslim Societies 1998 pp. 279).

ROLE OF STATE AND CIVIL SOCIETY

State is supposed to be the acting body that implements laws on civic system to make them civilised. However, sometimes it is not so easy for the state to cultivate civil society because of the reason that by nature state is a coercive body. Sometimes that coercion is relatively compassionate and has an easy nature but sometimes the coercion can be brutal / harsh / firm as is the case of an authoritarian regime. German philosopher Georg Wilhelm (year) Friedrich Hegel distinguished the ‘state’ from ‘civil society’ in Elements of the Philosophy of Right. Hegel believed that civil society and the state were polar opposites, within the scheme of his dialectic theory of history. However, there is always a relationship of state-society. It has the power to over rule any custom or regulations yet there is always a degree of force that could be implied in order to mend the issues that are disrupting a system (Charles Hauss, 2003).

In the rural and tribal setups of Pakistan the role of the state in this regard is very apologetic. The state is unable to impose its authority in eradicating the flawed system. The state is only threatened if by chance a brutal act against women creates a controversy by popping out of the virtual walls of the close community. The involvement of media and later on the NGO’s are the usual treats for the state in order to pay due attention to these brutal acts against the women. Nevertheless, the involvement of international media and organisations triggers there sense of liability even more. But the question still prevails that is the state really incapable of doing so?

Civil society refers to “voluntary participation by average citizens and thus does not include behaviour imposed or even forced by the state” (Charles Hauss, 2003). Marxists argue that civil society and, especially, a civic culture tend to frustrate change and progress toward a more just and equitable society (Charles Hauss 2003). This theory fits in the situation where local jirgas and the civic culture are so much influential that it is hindering to accept the change. When the members / elements of civic culture interact together they not only get into arguments where they disagree about, but also areas where they agree and can work together in order to initiate a change. Hence it develops trust and toleration among people and the community's social life literally becomes more civil and these factors strengthen civil society. However, in these areas when anyone from outside interferes, they face immense resistance that they have to handle. It has been experienced many times that many professional students, welfare organisations, media bodies or foreign bodies who come in their boundary in order to make them the subject of their study, the innocent victims seek for support, shelter and peace if confronted.

There is also a mutual agreement of the experts that civil society and civic culture are all important for strengthening democracy and enabling conflict resolution. On the contrary, such regressive institutions or communities that lack tolerance and refuse to embrace modernity not just lack behind in their own development but also created a negative image of the reality which is usually in order to show power and authority.

WOMEN STATUS IN THE TRIBAL AREAS

In the tribal or the rural setup of Pakistan women are usually suppressed and act as man’s subordinate. This perception of male dominance and female subordination to the man has been observed in many parts of the developing countries. (Ilike pp: 84, 2005). In these rural areas, man is the head of the family and even outside the family the tribal / rural setups are headed by men as well. Moreover, women are considered worthy only for the household chores and raising children and she is least consulted when the family decisions are taken, even in the matters that involves the decisions regarding their own children. Women involvement is too far to talk about regarding financial or legal matters. However, it is documented by Lucy Whalley says, “Both Islam and tradition are seen as strengthening family ties. Senior family women exercise the most responsibility for decision making and protecting assets. Wives control household income and women, as pillars of the house, family, and community are viewed as equally or more commendable ethically than men” (Women in Islam 1990 pp: 243).

However it is the fact that harshness of rural life seems to disqualify oppressive interpretations of Islam. Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s rules which are almost based on the teachings of Islam give the human and constitutional right to all men and women irrespective of their religion to enjoy freedom and security and it condemns any sort of discrimination and gives women, a respectable position in the society and family. The present scenario of rural Pakistan is just opposite to the tenets of Islamic teachings.

In 1993 the UN General Assembly passed a Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and offered the first official definition of such violence against women as, “any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex, which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise of women, irrespective of their mental status on a basis of quality of men and women, of human rights, and fundamental freedom in political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.” (Ilika. pp: 77-88) However in these rural or tribal setups if any issue arises and is brought in front of the local court of justice, her explanation is least heard or valued. Witness of a woman in any issue is not valued or considered.

Many times these women face terrible intimate partner violence in a form of forced sex, pregnancy and abortions. Further, women are being burned and killed on petty domestic issues or in the name and sake of dowry. Acid burning is one of the biggest issues among domestic violence. Though sexual violence by the intimate partner is not even considered to be a kind of violence as it is a belief that marriage is a contract that gives unlimited legitimacy to have sexual relation with your partner hence there is no concept of force. Furthermore, religious norms and teachings supporting female submissive behaviour before their husband are well documented in the Islamic religious documents. However the context and the meaning of these teachings are redefined according to the personal means and women are exploited in the name of religion. In such a situation the women is most unlikely to report to appropriate health or law authorities even if she has an access to. These women perceive partner violence in any form as culturally acceptable, and a normal marriage experience is built on male supremacy (Ilike: 2005 pp85)

“Gender based violence is known to be a prevalent public health problem worldwide. It occurs in various forms, such as physical assault like hitting, slapping, kicking and beating; and psychological abuse like constant belittling, intimidation, humiliation and forced sex. Intimate partner violence affects the reproductive, social, physical and psychological wellbeing of victims” (Ilika pp. 77-88, 2005). The women living in the remote rural setups or the tribal areas face issues like verbal and physical abuse, their buying and selling, unlawful tribal decisions, forced marriage, marrying Quran and their unlawful and brutal killings in the name of honour. The absolute power attained by the heads have created an ongoing environment of violence which has made these women weaker as C. Wright Mills says, “all politics is a struggle for power; the ultimate kind of power is violence" (pp:171). In rural Pakistan, if there is a violent act like acid burning of a woman by her man or his family, these so called ruling bodies seem to be mute spectators rather than providing justice to the victims. The female victim at times does not get any kind of evidence and the one who has committed the criminal offence is not even interrogated or punished by these ruling bodies. Women usually who are being raped, acid burnt or have faced any violent act are taken to the health care centres and the issue gets public.

CASES STUDIES IN THE SYSTEM

There are many regions across Pakistan having such setups. In the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan (NWFP) the state has no control in the matters inside the province and the plight of women living there is devastating. Sawara / Vani is the custom of giving girls as brides in a compensation deal is prevailing. Cases of vani and sawara marriage are usually decreed by jirgas. Even unborn girls being promised in vani marriages, hence it shows that the custom is still alive and showing no signs of fading.

For instance, there was a case when two girls aged 12 and 7 had been given (in their absence) in nikkah to a family on the orders of a panchayat to a family in southern Punjab because of a so-called crime committed by their brother, Rehmatullah. This young man liked a woman Shahnaz from the family of a man named Ghulam Muhammad. The young couple got married, later sending a copy of the marriage document to their parents. Ghulam Muhammad took his case to the local panchayat, claiming he had been dishonoured, and demanding revenge for the loss of his daughter. The panchayat ordered the groom's father to give his two daughters as compensation to Shahnaz's brother. As a result, 12-year old Amina Bibi was given to Shahnaz’s brother Muhammad Afzal who was 28 year old, already married with two children. The other girl was 7 year old, Rehana Bibi, was given in marriage to Ghulam Muhammad's nephew, 8-year old Ramzan. The nikah ceremony was soliminalised by the local imam, but was not registered and the panchayat ordered the couple, Shahnaz and Rehmatullah, to be banned from the village. More worryingly, the panchayat also commanded the young girls' father not to contact the police or the press. However, the girls’ father dared to ignore the threat, and contacted the legal authorities. When the head of the panchayat’s verdict was inquired, he said that the case was a minor incident involving a Kamee (low-caste) family. The father of the two children was still being pressurised on account of the clause in the panchayat's decision, which was witnessed by 15 people. This clause stated that, even if the government intervened, the leader of the panchayat would still retain power to hand over the girls to their respective husbands.

Several other highly condemnable cases are there to be disscussed. Such as- a very recent case of extraordinary barbarism towards a young Sindhi woman was subjected to a forced abortion and a dog was set upon her and bit her repeatedly, where the dog was used to torture and humiliate the victim. Many women have been victimized in the name of karo-kari custom particularly in the interior Sindh Province and Southern Punjab. None of the feudal has ever condemned these murders or the auction of (kari) woman in southern Punjab. Additionally, ‘Honour Killings’ have taken the lives of innumerable women, many men, and even young girls throughout Pakistan, but especially within Southern Punjab. This type of killing can be a result of karo-kari or any other issues that is considered to be as a dishonour to the family. The practice of honour killing is given legitimacy due to the traditional authority of the 'jirgas' or the 'panchayats', which firmly abide by such practices. In rural Sindh, women are married to Quran the Holy Book which is not just illegal but blasphemous. Rape or gang-rape is one of the latest very frequent and rapidly growing modes of women violence/punishment in the rural setups of Pakistan. And the reason that is believed has giving courage to act in such a brutal way by numerous men is Pakistan’s own unrealistic zina [adultery] law and zina-bil-jabr [rape] law under Hadood ordinance. It was formulated in General Zia’s regime in 1979 and still prevails. He pronounced that a person may be proven guilty of zina or zina-bil-jabr however, evidence remains the same as for any other hadd crime: i.e four pious Muslim adults who have witnessed rape. Realistically speaking would four pious Muslim adults stand and let a woman get raped? Heated disputes have erupted regarding this policy (Anita. pp: 869-870 1990) “Women have been proven guilty of zina and zina-bil-jabr and the severest punishment, death by stoning or 100 lashes was invoked with either the accuser’s self-confession or by the testimony of four salah (morally upright) adult Muslim males. Without such evidence, the penalty is at the court's judgment. The zina laws wipe out the distinction between adultery and rape and criminalize a private offence, adultery while making rape a matter for private complaint, in which the responsibility of proof lies on the victim. The confusion about what is allowed in Islam and what is not; has only been aggravated by politicizing religion and the severity of the punishments under these laws” (Anita. 1985, pp: 869-870)

WOMEN IN THE PITEOUS CIRCUMSTANCES

There are so many heart wrenching stories of such innocent women who get raped or gang raped and if they go to the their jirgas, panchayat or ever court of law she is asked to provide an eye witness. Therefore, she suffers twice but the justice is never received while the man goes away unpunished. Issues with not reporting against any kind of violence is the threat of life, fear of not being heard and get justice, lack of access to agency that can help is providing justice. Sometimes, there is so much social pressure that these women are expected to bear with the violence because they think if the issue is raised more it will bring shame to their family. Many women living in these areas have adapted the fact that it is the way they are suppose to live. Since, they are unaware and unenlightened and have no knowledge of the fact that their rights are being violated. Hence, they do not report against the offences in turn making it difficult to get justice for them. Resultantly, one issue is followed by another and the process goes on and on.

Although, state apparently does realize that the majority of victims in adultery and rape cases who have been tried in court have been poor, rural women unable to hire lawyers or exert any political influence, no one in power appears to is addressing which segments of the female population are most affected by the new laws. In fact, they are upholding class distinctions as well as gender discrimination. May be because of the fact that many jirga leaders themselves are members of the civil administration, or have family links to the administration and in their official capacity they talk about human rights for all, yet in their districts they participate in tribal courts. They talk about 'good governance' and 'democracy' in one forum and in the other they are handing down punishments in violation of basic human rights principles especially in the women issues (HRCP)

MUKHTARAN MAI GANG RAPE CASE

Mukhtaran Mai’s gang rape is one heart-touching example of the role of civil society, involvement of media and international organisation and the state of Pakistan. Mukhtar Mai an illiterate woman lived in a small village of Southern Punjab. She was gang raped on the orders of a tribal council, in order to settle down an allegation by the influential Mastoi clan that Mukhtaran’s brother, Shakoor who was 12-year-old was seen in the company of a Mastoi’s woman. Since, this had brought shame to the entire clan thus the council allegedly ordered the rape of Mukhtar Mai to avenge the wrong that her brother had been accused of committing. As members of the high-status tribe danced in joy, four men stripped her naked and took turns raping her. Then, they forced her to walk home naked in front of 300 villagers. It was presumed that after that she will either commit suicide or will shut her mouth in the honour of the family just like other women do. But, in contrast to that she stood against the unjust behaviour despite of receiving death threats by the Mastoi clan. She contacted the media and the court of law and after 3 years of legal battle four men was sentenced to death for raping her and two others for participating in the decision. One big reason of Mukhtaran getting justice was because the case got the attention of the media and NGOs’. The case further got serious attention from the international media and hence the state had to pay attention. The state helped Mukhtaran Mai to get security and justice. There was also compensatory money proposed to her which she requested to be replaced by schools and facilities for the women in her village. Because she believed that women enlightenment helps them to know their rights. She believed that education is the best way to achieve social change. (Nicolas, NY Times, 2008)

Over the span of 3-5 years she has been able to open up a women crisis centre, a health care centre, emergency service and she her self is playing an important role as a prominent part of civil society. Women are actually raising their voices against the unjust acts and they seek to reach Mukhtaran shelter houses if they face any danger. (Nicolas, NY Times 2008)

CONCLUSION

The civil society of Pakistan has proved to behave differently in contrasting situations. The helplessness of a common man with relevance of power between the panchayati decisions and formal court of law is highly questionable. As defined by Hans Morgenthau, “Power may comprise anything that establishes and maintains the control of man over man”, covers all social relationships, which serve that end, from physical violence to the most subtle psychological ties by which one mind controls another. Power covers the domination of man by man, both when it is disciplined by moral ends and controlled by constitutional safeguards … and when it is that untamed and barbaric force which finds its laws in nothing but its own strength and its sole justification in its aggrandizement (pp:11). So the untamed power used by these people in order to provide justice is defined ad regulated on their own and there is no regulatory body to assess the effect that is caused by these forces to the rural women.

In addition to that, the representation of such issues is a major responsibility for those who present it. Sometimes, the manners in which such incidents are reported and discussed are considered just routine happenings or no more serious than deaths in road accidents. The problem with this approach is that the focus of the debate is more on the act of cruelty and due attention is not paid to why such issues happen over and over again. These factors have strengthened the state’s failure to deal with such brutal customs adequately and effectively.

Women education enlightens them and makes them able to know their rights but in tribal and rural population men are being threatened by women being literate. In ‘Women in Muslim Societies’ explain how modernization, globalization and rapid socioeconomic change have helped sensitise women to have better rights. Simultaneously, nation building agents and Islamcists have attempted to control and manipulate women and images of femininity for their own agendas and how ethnic conflict become symbols of group identity and "Islamic" validity, supporting conservative norms about women and sexuality. As a result, women, their activities, and their representations become the focus of argument. Also, Bouthaina Shabaan emphasises the need to change country’s own image of Muslim women and ease the persistent patriarchal values at the expense of women’s status. (Bodman and Tohidi. 1998 pp. 310).

State of Pakistan has to go beyond the repeated appeals to these jirgas but it is high time to enact power to stop it. Flaws in the ordinances need to be immediately emended. However, it has become an ego of the so called religious parties who support it. State can implement rules that at the first place not supportive of such orders of jirgas. The local bodies could be elected bodies of the state and the system has to be legitimised so that the use of local power is used for the benefit of the people and not to exploit them. In April 2006, Amnesty International wrote to the Pakistani government reminding them of their human rights obligations explicitly stating, “Under Pakistani law, informal councils - shuras, jirgas or panchayats - are not entitled to assume criminal justice functions such as the trial and conviction of criminal suspects and to order their punishment. In the absence of lawful authority under Pakistani law and procedures which meet international standards of fairness, these killings are unlawful and should be treated as a serious crime by the government.” (Amnesty International).

I will end up by quoting Locke “in all states and conditions, the true remedy of force without authority is to oppose force to it.” and as Michel says “power is less a property than a strategy and is widely distributed in cultural discourses and their settings”. (Harris pp: 671-683).