Vani (Urdu: ونی), or Swara (سوارہ), is a cultural custom found in parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan wherein young girls are forcibly married as part of punishment for a crime committed by her male relatives. Vani is a form of arranged child marriage, and the result of punishment decided by a council of tribal elders named jirga. It is tied to blood feuds among the different tribes and clans and is most common among Pashtuns. Vani is sometimes spelled as Wani or Wanni. It is a Pashto word derived from vanay which means blood. It is also known as Sak and Sangchatti (سنگ چتی) in different regional languages of Pakistan. Some claim Vani can be avoided if the clan of the girl agrees to pay money, called Deet (دیت).
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The custom became illegal in Pakistan in 2005 or 2011 at the latest; however, the practice continues. Recently the courts in Pakistan have begun taking serious note and action against the continuation of the practice.
Rationale
Hashmi and Koukab claim this custom started almost 400 years ago when two northwestern Pakistani Pashtun tribes fought a bloody war against each other. During the war, hundreds were murdered. The Nawab, regional ruler, settled the war by calling a Jirga of elders from both sides. The elders decided that the dispute and crime of men be settled by giving their girls as Qisas, a retaliatory punishment.
Ever since then, tribal and rural jirgas have been using young virgin girls from 4 to 14 years old, through child marriages, to settle crimes such as murder by men. This blood for blood tradition is practiced in different states of Pakistan such as Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan and Sarhad and tribal areas.
A report by Pakistan's Law Commission states that sharia principle of Qisas is the rationale for Vani.
Some scholars claim the Hudud Ordinance of 1979 by Pakistan government, which made Sharia its prime source of law, as another driver encouraging Vani.
Prevalence
In 2012, 13 girls ranging from age 4 to 16 years were forced into marriage to settle a dispute with an allegation of murder between two clans of Pakistan. The case was tried by elders from the two groups, with a member of Balochistan state assembly Mir Tariq Masoori Bugti, leading the jirga. The jirga’s verdict included Vani, that is an order that the 13 girls must be handed over as wives to members of opposing group, for a crime committed by one man who could not be found for the trial. The sentence was carried out, and the politician Mr. Bugti defended the practice of Vani as a valid means to settle disputes.
Numerous other cases have been reported. In 2011, for example, a 12-year-old girl was handed over as wife to an 85-year-old man, under vani, for a crime alleged to have been committed by the girl’s father. In 2010, another politician participated as a member of a ‘‘jirga’’ and ruled in favor of ‘‘Vani’’.
The custom of Vani is very common many regions of Pakistan. The Supreme Court of Pakistan served suo motu notices in 2012 to help reduce and stop the custom of Vani.
Related customs
In Afghanistan, a similar custom is called Ba'ad, sometimes as Sawara.