Another stoning of a Sindhi woman

The social media was filled with posts of the stoning of a married woman in Jamshoro district last week and a postmortem of the lady has revealed a high degree of torture and molestation of the victim. Police have already arrested a husband and some relatives of the woman.

This was the second case of stoning in recent history as a few months back a case of the stoning of a girl was reported in Johi, Dadu district, which was hushed by the Police under a high degree of pressure from influential Rind tribe chieftains who were also supported by a media magnate belonging to the same tribe. An HRCP (Human Rights Commission of Pakistan) fact-finding mission also tried to cover up the stoning incident.

Initially, the Johi police had arrested the father, mother and a prayer leader in the case of stoning to 10-year old Gul Sama, but they were later freed under the pressure from local influential people.

A reporter from a media house based in Karachi had also faced outrage from the Rind tribe people as their chieftain managed to hold several protest demonstrations against the said reporter in different cities including in Dadu and Karachi. The reporter and his family members received threats from the local landlords and his supporters.

The new incident of stoning is feared to face the same fate as the tribal influential people and some sections in the establishment do not want a spread of the news about the centuries-old tribal custom of stoning in the media.

A recent statement by Women Action Forum has demanded the provincial Sindh government to send the case to the Anti-Terrorism court.

The women's rights group WAF has expressed serious concern over a post-mortem report of the woman, Wazeeran Chhachhar. The WAF said that this case had exposed the incompetence of all institutions supposed to enforce the law and society`s indifferent attitude towards women. It said that the victim`s body had clear marks of violence all over and according to the woman who gave a funerary bath to the victim, there were torture marks on her body also.

It said that according to a post-mortem report, Waseeran had also offered resistance and her nails were also filled with dust.

The cold-blooded murder of a lady was first reported on social media, and then local and foreign press took it. On this, the Chairperson of the Sindh Commission on Status of Women Ms. Nuzhat Shireen also visited the place near Sann.

Although police have registered a case against the woman’s husband, his brother and another relative. Father the victim woman is the complainant in the case. Police have also arrested the husband and his brother who confessed to torturing her.

According to a report published in Arab News it was a case of a family dispute of “Watta Satta”, which literally means “to give and take (relationship)”.

But it is not simply a family feud as the woman was brutally tortured and the post-mortem report has confirmed it. The WAF has feared that the case might be spoiled due to a lack of interest from the police.