Pakistan: Human Rights Commission study reveals women still subjected to Karo-Kari, Vani practices

Women in tribal areas of Pakistan are still the victim of Karo-Kari and Vani, a new study of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) revealed.

HRCP has concluded a fact-finding mission to southern Punjab, comprising chairperson Hina Jilani, vice-chair Punjab Raja Ashraf, council member Nazir Ahmed, and regional coordinator Faisal Tangwani, a Pakistani newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Vani is a custom in parts of rural Pakistan in which girls are forcibly married as part of the punishment for a crime committed by their male relatives, while Karo-Kari is the honour killing, according to Pakistani channel Geo News and newspaper Dawn stated respectively.

The team also noted that women in the tribal areas of Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur are trapped in practices like Karo-Kari and Vani to such an extent that the Border Military Police also couldn't help to pull them out of that trap.

Moreover, many women were denied their basic rights like holding a citizenship document by male members of their families and, as a result, have no political voice.

HRCP's study also sees the common use of blasphemy laws to intimidate Hindu, Christian families for land grabbing. The study also stated that the forced conversion against minorities in religion is still the main concern in Pakistan, according to Dawn.

The study also revealed that the bonded labourers received less amount than the fixed minimum wages and the case of land acquisition in Cholistan by the military is still pending.

The team has also noted that lady health workers have continued to struggle without adequate security during their work, often putting their lives at risk in the line of duty and with negligible benefits to compensate them.

( With inputs from ANI )