– Researched and compiled by the Refugee Documentation Centre of Ireland on 20 January 2012

Information whether it is illegal in Pakistan for a woman to elope and whether it is a crime in Pakistan if a woman marries against her parents’ wishes.

A Refugee Review Tribunal of Australia country advice document on “love marriages” in Pakistan, in a section headed, “What is the current position in Pakistan where a family opposes a love marriage?”, states:

“In Pakistan it is not culturally acceptable to enter into a love marriage without family approval, according to multiple sources.” (Refugee Review Tribunal (17 November 2010) Pakistan – PAK37665 – Punjab – Love marriages – Family violence – Protection orders – State protection – Political violence)

In this document Dr Shakira Hussein, a fellow at the Australian National University, is quoted as saying:

“Arranged marriages within a person‘s own ethnic community tend to be the norm. This is very much the case across Pakistan as a whole. Western observers are often surprised to discover that affluent urban Pakistani families (who may otherwise seem outwardly no different to a Western family in their dress and behaviours) will nonetheless still expect their children to meet the expectation of entering into an arranged marriage with a partner from their own ethnic community… Moreover, love marriages which transgress family expectations can result in considerable family pressure being brought to bear. Again, violence could be a part of such pressure. In instances where the male partner to the marriage was from an ill-regarded community or caste then he, as much as the female partner to the marriage, could likely find himself the subject of a violent reprisal.” (ibid)

An article published in the Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy, in a section headed “Prerequisites to Marriage: The Meaning of “I Do NOT””, states:

“The Muslim Family Law Ordinance (MFLO) is the main body of law regulating marriage in Pakistan. The MFLO mainly deals with the procedural aspects of marriage, meaning that courts enjoy wide discretionary power to decide what the substantive, uncodified Muslim personal law is. It follows that unlike legislation in many other Muslim countries, Pakistani law is silent as to the right of an adult woman to marry a person of her choice and as to whether her consent to marriage is sufficient or even required as a prerequisite for its validity.” (Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy, Vol. 16 (August 2009) What’s the Constitution Got to Do With It? Regulating Marriage In Pakistan, p.352)

This section of the article also states:

“Apparently, this basic requirement is not so self-evident in Pakistan. Quite to the contrary, absent any clear legislative guidance, the phenomena of forced and ‘exchange’ marriages became prevalent in Pakistan, severely jeopardizing women’s independent decision-making in marriage. A girl is often promised in marriage to her parents’ friend, sometimes even before she is born, or may be given in marriage in exchange for a young girl from the groom’s family to be married to her brother or even her father. Moreover, Pakistani criminal law inadvertently encourages forced marriages. The penal code allows the victim of a crime or his heirs to ‘forgive’ the offense in return for compensation, and this has resulted in the practice of giving women in marriage to aggrieved parties in exchange for the waiving of criminal charges. Of course these traded women, ‘have no more of a voice than the money, land, or other property that changes hands in these transactions.’” (ibid, p.353)

In a section titled “Love and Marriage: Can They Go Hand in Hand in Pakistan” this article states:

“While the role of the guardian in contracting a marriage is largely settled in traditional Muslim thought, it became the subject of a major controversy in Pakistan. All schools of Islamic thought but one consider an adult woman the same as an infant who cannot understand the nature of marriage, and who is ‘weak in reason, and open to flattery and deceit,’ and as such lacks the legal competence to enter into marriage of her own accord. They therefore subject her right to marry to a superior right vested in her male guardian. The Hanafi School stands alone in allowing women to marry independently, even without parental consent. Recent years, however, have witnessed many cases of so-called runaway ‘love- marriages,’ with more and more women marrying on their own initiative and without parental approval. Women, independently practicing decisionmaking in marriage, have created social and legal turmoil in Pakistan, leading to court battles, police raids and harassment, and even so-called ‘honor’ killings.” (ibid, p.356)

A section titled “Love Marriages and the Police” states:

“Despite the judicial vindication of womens’ right to marry, traditional perceptions of honor still severely limit some of the most basic rights of women. Regrettably, many ‘love marriages’ who disregarded their families’ wishes find themselves subject to harassment by the Pakistani police, who raid and search their homes, arrest them, and may even charge them with ‘pre’- marital sex—a severe offense under the infamous Zina Ordinance criminalizing adultery and fornication. The police may even go so far as to harass the husband’s family members to pressure him to divorce his wife. One such case reached the Pakistani court system. The Court enlisted the constitutional protection accorded to marriage in condemnation of the officers, viewing their behavior as based on tribal customs, social taboos, and barbarity.” (ibid, p.359)

In a section titled “Love Marriages and Honor Killings” the killing of women who marry without parental consent is referred to as follows:

“Every year an immense number of women, of all ages and in all parts of Pakistan, are reported killed in the name of honor, making Pakistan the home of an ‘honor killing industry.’ In fact, honor killings in general, and in response to love marriages in particular, are so prevalent that government statistics report that not a day goes by without at least one woman being killed in the name of distorted notions of honor. While a woman who marries without parental consent is frequently murdered to restore her family’s honor, her husband can escape this fate by paying her father what her ‘worth’ was. More often than not, the man ‘pays’ his wife’s family not financial compensation, but another woman such as his sister or cousin. What’s worse, honor killings, however repugnant, are nonetheless socially sanctioned; those who perpetrate them are not perceived as criminals, but rather as persons rendering punishment to a wrongdoer, they may even be applauded and respected by their peers, and may not face criminal prosecution. Even when they do, lower courts have tended to be lenient and forgiving, either drastically reducing the killers’ sentences or acquitting them of altogether. As one court put it, the Qur’an establishes men as the ‘custodians of women;’ so, a man who kills another man for tarnishing the honor of his wife or daughter is merely defending his property.” (ibid, pp. 361-362)

This section also states:

“In conclusion, the Pakistani courts have generally recognized and respected women’s basic Islamic and constitutional freedom to exercise choice in marriage. They have developed and implemented various techniques—invalidating forced unions, quashing criminal charges, issuing restraining orders, penalizing police officers, and rejecting compromises and the honor killing defense—all in order to preserve the sanctity of the right to marry. But there is a limit to the judiciary’s ability to uphold the Constitution unaided. While courts have interpreted laws in the spirit of the Constitution and guided state functionaries to safeguard marriage, the Pakistani legislature has largely failed to translate constitutional guarantees from rhetoric into reality. The legislature has remained oblivious to customary practices, hindering the actualization of women’s right to marry, and thus also to constitutional rights.” (ibid, p.364)

An article from the Asian Human Rights Commission publication Ethics in Action states:

“The issue of love marriages is highly contentious in Pakistan, a traditionally patriarchal and feudal-based society. According to prevalent social and cultural norms, women are objects under the control and protection of male family members. Their rights and freedoms are severely restricted. Such a society sees marriage as a trade or business deal between different families. The idea of women choosing their own marriage partners is considered outrageous and unacceptable behavior.” (Ethics in Action, Vol 3, No.5 (October 2009) Love marriages, women and rule of law in Pakistan)

This article comments on the lack of state protection for persons involved in a “love marriage” as follows:

“It is common for legal authorities, particularly the police to mishandle cases involving love marriages or other ‘family issues’. For this reason, violence against (including violence against women in love marriages) remains very high. Furthermore, the country’s social infrastructure and institutions are largely operated and staffed by men, most of whom carry various cultural and gender biases. Cases involving women—whether at police stations or in the court system—are inevitably prejudiced, prone to violence, and illegal. A pregnant woman in Punjab province for instance, was severely beaten by the police in August 2007 for secretly marrying and living with a man despite her parents having already chosen her bridegroom. Her husband was falsely charged with her abduction, while she was ‘punished’ by being raped by her intended bridegroom.” (ibid)

This article also states:

“In another case illuminating police abuse of power, the bride’s family influenced the police to abduct and imprison her in-laws. In April of this year, Miss Firdous Shaheen, who belongs to a wealthy and influential Shiite Muslim family in Muzaffarabad, capital of Pakistan controlled Kashmir, married Mr Zamir Lone, a Sunni Muslim, without her parents’ knowledge. Their anger when they found out led Firdous to leave home, requesting them not to look for her. After this, her father Mr Bukhari lodged a First Information Report against the groom and his family on 14 June 2009, claiming that they had abducted his daughter. He also went to see Mr Sabir Naqvi, superintendent of the Muzaffarabad commissioner's office, and Mr Murtaza Gilliani, the provincial minister of Pakistan controlled Kashmir, about this case. On the same day, June 14, Mr Naqvi reportedly threatened Zamir’s father, that if Firdous didn’t appear in 24 hours, his whole family would be arrested. Later that day, the police did in fact raid Zamir’s house, and arrested his father and two brothers. On June 29, his mother and sister, who had been in hiding, were detained. They were granted bail before arrest, but the court denied bail to his father and brothers.” (ibid)

A report from the Asian Human Rights Commission comments on a specific case of “love marriage” related as follows:

“On September 17, 2007 Mr. Said ur Reman, a brother of the groom, was threatened and killed; a murder case was lodged at Akbarpura police station through First Information Report no.173/2007. No investigative action was taken. On December 4, 2008, shortly before Israel's return to Dubai from Pakistan the groom, Fazal, was found murdered. A murder case was lodged with the same police station, FIR no. 239/ 08; no investigation was launched. The groom's third brother, Sarwar Khan, was murdered just three months ago on 29 December 2009 during another visit from the suspected perpetrator. The FIR no. 513/09 was again lodged with the Akbarpura police, with no follow up action taken. All three were reportedly murdered within 100m of the police station. The AHRC has been informed that the bride herself, who has a young son, has escaped kidnap attempts by the brothers, who have told her of their intention to kill her; however complaints to the local police were not taken up to any degree. We have learned that Israel is now in Pakistan again and has already sent a message to the groom’s family demanding that they hand over Ms. Gohar or their last surviving son, Abdul Haleem Khan, will also be killed. The victims are again receiving no protection or response from the authorities.” (Asian Human Rights Commission (5 March 2010) Pakistan: Urgent protection needed for the survivors of love marriage-related murders; police refuse to investigate)

An IRIN News report on “honour killings” in Pakistan states:

“Murders of the kind which ended Saima’s life are not uncommon. According to the autonomous Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), over 600 women were killed for ‘honour’ in 2009. This usually entails the murder of women suspected of having sexual relations outside marriage; choosing who to marry rather than accepting decisions made by families; or behaving in other ways that are seen as ‘immoral’. Other ‘honour’ killings go unreported, especially when they take place in remote, rural areas. ‘Such killings occur when the “honour” of male members of a household is perceived to have been injured,’ said I.A.Rehman, the secretary-general of HRCP. Though women aged over 18 have the legal right to marry of their own free will ‘tradition’ means they are expected to go along with parental choices.” (IRIN News (27 January 2011) Pakistan: Hundreds of women die for “honour” each year)

The 2011 US Department of State country report for Pakistan, in a section headed “Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence”, states:

“Although the government generally did not interfere with the right to marry, local officials on occasion assisted influential families in preventing marriages to which the families were opposed. The government also failed to prosecute cases in which families punished members (generally women) for marrying or seeking a divorce against the wishes of other family members.” (US Department of State (8 April 2011) 2010 Human Rights Report: Pakistan)

In a section titled “Women” this report states:

“Many young girls and women were victims of forced marriages arranged by their families. Forced marriage was made a criminal offense in 2007; while many cases were filed, prosecution remained a problem. There were reports of citizens abroad bringing their daughters back to the country, taking away their legal documents, and forcing them into marriage against their will.” (ibid)

An Agence France Presse report describes the experience of one couple in a “love marriage” as follows:

“The couple married in Pakistan's southeastern city of more than two years ago without the permission of their elders, provoking the wrath of chieftains in Saira's conservative Jatoi tribe. Saira's parents wanted her to marry a wealthy but elderly man from their own tribe. But after meeting Soomro at a wedding -- where she was a guest and he had been hired to make the video -- Saira defied her parents and married the man she loved. Sensing danger, the newlyweds fled into the arms of the police. Jatoi elders convened a tribal court -- outlawed but prevalent in feudal and conservative rural Pakistan -- and sentenced the couple to death in absentia.” (Agence France Presse (11 June 2009) Pakistani couple married for love, hiding in fear of tribal justice)

A Daily Times article states:

“Due to forced marriages and opposition to love marriages by the parents, the number of runaway marriages is increasing, having far-reaching impact on the socio- cultural and legal setup. The runaway couples have to face dire consequences and approach the courts for protection to their lives. The same is being witnessed in capital as the index has outnumbered previous records in runaway couples approaching courts for marriages of their own will. An examination of the record at district courts disclosed that in June to September 8, 2011 as many as 98 runaway marriages were registered and statement was recorded under section 164 Cr PC for seeking appropriate legal protection from police and infuriated family members.” (Daily Times (12 September 2011) Number of runaway marriages on the rise)

A Plus News article states:

“The High Court (SHC) on Monday restrained the Malircity police from arresting a man and his family members in a love marriage case. Ms Rehmat submitted that she married to Munawar Hussain of her free will on December 14, 2011, but her annoyed family members got a case registered against her spouse and in-laws. The petitioner submitted that the police were conducting raids to arrest her spouse and prayed to the court to quash the criminal case registered by the Malir city police station. The SHC's division bench, headed by Justice Munib Akhtar, after conducting preliminary hearing of the petition, issued notices to the advocate general Sindh, the SHO Malir and others, restraining the police from arresting the petitioner's spouse and her in-laws or taking any action with respect to the kidnapping case. The court also directed the SHO to appear before the court on January 12 along with police record. The court also issued interim injunction against the arrest of another couple, facing criminal litigation for marrying against the will of their family.” (Plus News (3 January 2012) Police restrained from arresting man in love marriage case)

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Refugee Documentation Centre within time constraints. This response is not and does not purport to be conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please read in full all documents referred to.

References:

Agence France Presse (11 June 2009) Pakistani couple married for love, hiding in fear of tribal justice http://www.lexisnexis.com (Accessed 20 January 2012)

Asian Human Rights Commission (5 March 2010) Pakistan: Urgent protection needed for the survivors of love marriage-related murders; police refuse to investigate http://www.humanrights.asia/news/urgent-appeals/AHRC-UAC-024-2010 (Accessed 20 January 2012)

Daily Times (12 September 2011) Number of runaway marriages on the rise http://www.lexisnexis.com (Accessed 20 January 2012)

Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy, Vol. 16 (August 2009) What’s the Constitution Got to Do With It? Regulating Marriage In Pakistan http://www.law.duke.edu/shell/cite.pl?17+Duke+J.+Gender+L.+&+Pol'y+347+pdf (Accessed 20 January 2012)

Ethics in Action, Vol 3, No.5 (October 2009) Love marriages, women and rule of law in Pakistan http://www.ethicsinaction.asia/archive/2009-ethics-in-action/vol.-3-no.-5-october- 2009/love-marriages-women-and-rule-of-law-in-pakistan (Accessed 20 January 2012)

IRIN News (27 January 2011) Pakistan: Hundreds of women die for “honour” each year http://www.irinnews.org/printreport.aspx?reportid=91753 (Accessed 20 January 2012)

Plus News (3 January 2012) Police restrained from arresting man in love marriage case http://www.lexisnexis.com (Accessed 20 January 2012)

Refugee Review Tribunal (17 November 2010) Pakistan – PAK37665 – Punjab – Love marriages – Family violence – Protection orders – State protection – Political violence http://www.mrt-rrt.gov.au/ArticleDocuments/100/pak37665.pdf.aspx (Accessed 20 January 2012)

US Department of State (8 April 2011) 2010 Human Rights Report: Pakistan http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/sca/154485.htm (Accessed 20 January 2012)

Sources Consulted:

Asian Human Rights Commission Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy Electronic Immigration Network Ethics in Action European Country of Origin Information Network Google Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada IRIN News Lexis Nexis Refugee Documentation Centre Query Database Refugee Review Tribunal UK Home Office UNHCR Refworld US Department of State