Kill them for they are legal?
By Amar Guriro
KARACHI: It seemed to them that their matches were made in heaven and all four of them believed that they had found the life partners of their dreams.
The two couples had gotten married on their own free will, sadly, however, their story has still not had a happily ever after and the fear of what they are running from is evident in their eyes.
The couples have all the legal documents that a man and wife need to live together but in a country where the word legal means nothing and where egos are given more preference than human lives, these documents can do little to protect them.
Running away from your own family, especially when they are after your blood, is not an easy task and now the couples, who should be taking time off to savour their relationship, are standing at the Karachi Press Club, asking the state for protection from their families. They have their Nikahnama in their hand and are wearing their hopes, dreams and fears on their sleeves.
Karachi Press Club, the biggest media club in the province as it is in the capital city of Sindh, where all the offices of newspapers and television channels are located, has been like a shrine to many people and dozens of people visit it daily, hoping that their demands would be fulfilled. Some people stage demonstrations, others sit on token hunger strikes against state-run departments or for the release of their salaries and sometimes couples also come here demanding protection. Most of these couples arrive from rural districts of Sindh, where marrying out of choice is considered a heinous crime and those unfortunate enough to be caught after getting married are slaughtered like cows and sheep under the pretext of protecting the family’s honour. Thousands of young males and females have been the victims of these so-called traditional customs and have been sacrificed in the name of Karo-Kari.
Such would be the fate of Rajab Ali and Seema Sammo, the residents of Balochistan and Jacobabad (Sindh) and Zulfiqar Ali Solangi and Shabana Solangi, belonging to district Kambar, had they not run for their lives and come to Karachi.
They are hoping that the city of lights offers them some relief and also helps them escape the ill fate that they are destined to face, if they are not offered protection and are turned back empty handed.
Source: Daily Times
Date:6/24/2009
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