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| The provinces of Sind and the Punjab have certain areas where this type of marriage is still continuing |
According to several websites, a traditional practice of
giving one’s daughter or close female relatives in marriage to the Quran is
still persistent in parts of the Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan.
The Syeds (also written as Saiids or Sayyids) – a high-caste Muslims – who claim
descent from Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam in Saudi Arabia and consider themselves
superior to other Muslims, still continue this un-Islamic practice without
impunity. These Muslims are rich and own large tracts of land in those two provinces of Pakistan.
This exploitative custom is also known locally as haq bakhish, haq-baksh-wai or haq
bakhashwain. In English, this is termed as ‘Quran brides’ or ‘brides of the
Quran.’
When suitable husbands are not found according to the liking
of the fathers or male guardians, they force the girls to commit the Quran, the
holy book of Islam, to memory and hang parts of the Quranic verses around their
waist with a cord before they are given in marriage to the holy book.
This is done not because of the males’ love for religion but
for their selfish ends: that is, preventing their lands to be subdivided by way
of giving dowry to the outsider husbands of their girls. The undivided lands continue
to give them profits.
These ‘Quran brides’ then serve as life-long slaves in their
own families working as waitresses and child minders as well as doing all kinds
of household chores.
This practice not only goes against the teaching of Islam
but also is criminal in nature under Pakistan’s laws. If convicted, the perpetrators
are liable to get a seven-year imprisonment. Those who commit this crime is so
influential and powerful that none dares complain against them or punish them.
According to the Asharq
Al Awsat, an international Arabic newspaper, there were about 10,000 Quran
brides in Pakistan in 2007.
The honour killing of girls is another form of exploitation of and violence against women in Pakistan.
The honour killing of girls is another form of exploitation of and violence against women in Pakistan.
For further information, you may read the following:
- The life of slavery of Pakistani women who are forced to marry the Quran
- The lives of Pakistan's 'brides of the Quran'
- Marriage with the Quran
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