An ancient abhorrent practice -- Ghag -- still continues to be practiced by the powerful villains in some corners of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) though it has been officially abolished by the provincial government under the ‘Elimination of the Custom of Ghag Act, 2013.’ But, despite an elaborate justice and enforcement system in place, the elimination of Ghag remains a far cry in KP. Indeed, a sad commentary on the quality of governance!

As per the primitive practice of Ghag, if a man makes a declaration in public that a particular girl was engaged to him no other person would dare to send a marriage proposal for the girl to avoid earning enmity of the person who had made the declaration. Thus, the declaration, which is made without the consent of the girl or her parents, forestalls the prospects for marriage of the girl to any other person.

To abolish this custom, which appears to be a manifestation of the ‘law of jungle’ and ‘might is right,’ the KP provincial government initially issued an ordinance on October 25, 2012 under Article 128 of Pakistan’s Constitution, which was later passed into law by the KP Provincial Assembly on January 8, 2013. Under the ‘Elimination of the Custom of Ghag Act, 2013,’ violators of the law could face up to seven years imprisonment and Rs500,000 fine or both.

If the man who has made the declaration for Ghag does not marry the girl, the inhuman custom covertly serves as a means to seek revenge on the family or a threatening tool to impel the parents of the girl to resolve the disputes on the terms of the mighty.

Can you imagine that even in the present era some people had the temerity to use the primitive practice of Ghag to forestall the prospects for marriage of six young girls (sisters and siblings of the same family) from Hangu district, according to a news report published in daily The News (October 11), unless their parents agreed to settle a dispute on the terms being dictated by the persons who have publicly vowed to marry those girls.

"Even after the (Peshawar) High Court direction, the accused are giving threats" to Payao Muhammad, father of the six girls, and demanding the hands of his daughters in marriage. The father of the girls had got an FIR registered against the accused, but three of them are still absconding. "One was arrested, but the local court acquitted him of the charge, impelling the complainant to file an appeal in the high court. Despite Peshawar High Court’s direction to the police high-ups and the district administration to take action against the accused as per the law, and make all arrangements for the marriage of the six girls, the accused are still sticking to their illegal demand of Ghag, while the police have failed to nab those violators of the law," according to the petitioner’s lawyer, Ambreen Gulzar.

The eldest daughter of the petitioner is now 28 years old, and "time is running out for her to get married," laments elederly Payao Muhmmad; while his other daughters are in the age groups ranging from 14 to 23 years. "Whenever someone comes to my home with marriage proposal for my daughters, the accused start hurling threats at them," he added.

Like parents elsewhere in Pakistan, the Pashtuns also desire to marry off their grown up children at the first opportunity. One can imagine the frustration of Payao Muhammad at his helplessness and inability to marry off his six daughters in keeping with the wishes of the family.

This inhuman practice of Ghag is not only confined to Hangu or some particular regions of KP, it is also prevalent among some Pashtun tribes in Loralai and Zhob districts of Balochistan. However, it is known as "Ar" in that province. When refused the hand of a girl, the mighty person persisting in his demand would throw the head of a slaughtered sheep or goat into the house of the girl of his dreams, fire a gun in front of the girl’s house, cut locks of her hair or the ornament called Zarungae, and run away with her shawl, declaring that she was his and no one else dare to marry her.

If we wish to rid our society of the abhorrent practices like Ghag, the legislative bodies may do well to monitor strictly the implementation of laws enacted by them through their respective committees. On detection of any case pertaining to the breach of law, the committee chairman may issue directives to the concerned department or departments to ensure implementation of the law both in letter and spirit, punishing the culprits.