Another girl pays price for marrying by consent
By Uzma Zafar

ISLAMABAD—Mussarat became yet another victim, like many others, of rape, just because she availed her right of marriage through her own consent. This was disclosed by Chairperson PWA (Progressive Women Association) Shehnaz Bukhari, at a presser, here this Friday.
Rape is the act of forcing sexual act against another’s will through violence, force, threat of injury, or other duress. The whole issue of honour and control of a woman’s body is a feudal ethos which plays an important role in Pakistan. Women are said to be controlled because the honour of the family, they say, rests with them, despite the very fact that the religion permits a girl to marry by her own consent. But she is stll savagely forced to give in for the deals by her own family, time and time again, in the name of honour.
Thus, like many others, Mussarat, the young girl who took the liberty to marry the person of her own choice, against her family’s will, on 31-7-06, had to pay a heavy price.
She was called by Nazir Ahmed, her father in Kabir Wala, a month later and the groom was ordered to give Rs.25lac to him and put a house in his wife’s name. He was kicked out as he refused for he didn’t have that big money. Musarat went out at night and ran to her husband in Lahore, later on.
Never being accepted by the family after the wedding, it came to Mussarat as a complete surprise when her parents forced her to go and attend her brother’s wedding ceremony at Okara. What Mussarat did not know was that her parents were planning to have some Chaudhries intervene in their matter and press their daughter Mussarat to file for a divorce.
Instead of resolving the situation, Chaudhry Raana Idris of Kabir Wala picked her from the Khanewal bus stop by force, brutally raped her on 11th October 2006 at night and left her to die. At night, around 3pm, Mussarat managed to walk from that village to the city and call her husband for help.
Both of them went to police station in Okara with some local reporter, seeking justice but nothing came off. On 14th October they protested in front of Governor House, Lahore and later before the Supreme Court. On 30th, on the intervention of the honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan, their FIR was registered. He also ordered for arrest of the criminals.
Since last month the couple has been running from pillar to post for justice. PWA, though grateful to the Chief justice for intervening in cases of critical violence, has also urged strict monitoring of his orders on urgent basis so that the victim not be killed like in unfortunate Shahnaz Fatima case of Okara. “PWA seeks justice for this ill-fated couple and demands security for them, as their life is in danger”, stated PWA Chairperson.