Voice 1 Hello. I'm Christy VanArragon Voice 2 And I'm Elizabeth Lickiss. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1 Coming of age is an important time in any person's life. Coming of age is when a child becomes an adult. It is the time when the law or the community recognises that change. Different cultures celebrate the coming of age in different ways. For many people there will be a special ceremony. Parents may organise a party. Family and friends may bring gifts. But some young people are not happy about coming of age. The three Khan sisters live in Pakistan. For them becoming an adult means one thing - it is time to marry their enemies. This is a tradition called ‘Vani' in their local language. It is a tradition that the girls are fighting against.
Voice 2 Abda, Amna and Sajda Khan come from Sultanwala in the Punjab area of Pakistan. They sit in a line holding onto each other. They wear traditional clothes. The only parts of their bodies showing are their eyes. But their eyes seem to tell a story. They look frightened and worried. A newspaper reporter has a camera. The three girls look in his direction and click he takes their picture. He will use the picture in a newspaper story. Abda, Amna and Sajda are protesting against the tradition of ‘vani'. Their story has raised the concerns of many people in the country.
Voice 1 Her family now considers Abda Khan to be an adult. It should be a happy time. Abda was looking forward to going to work. But now she is frightened. She knows that her community expects her to fulfil a promise made many years ago.
The story began over fourteen [14] years ago when Abda was a young child. Her uncle, Mohammed Iqbal Khan, was responsible for another man's death. He hid away to avoid punishment for his crime. But he knew that one day someone would find him. Mohammed lived in fear. What could he do? Then important people in his community offered him a chance. He could go to a tribal court. This court is different from the government law courts of Pakistan. A tribal court would let Mohammed use vani to settle the matter. Mohammed agreed to the vani arrangement. He would give the young females in his family to the family of the man who had died. These girls would marry men in the dead man's family. They would belong to them. In return the dead man's family promised Mohammed that they would not punish him. The girls would keep Mohammed's side of the vani arrangement when they came of age. Voice 2 The law in the Punjab area of Pakistan bans vani. But the tradition still exists. People choose tribal courts to settle their problems. They do not seek the authority of the law. These people say that traditional ways of thinking are important. Supporters of vani say that it is a good idea. It solves disputes between families. They say that vani has stopped many communities from being destroyed. It can bring peace into a troubled situation. But the Khan girls think differently. Amna says, Voice 3 ‘It is a great injustice. Vani should not happen. Why should we pay for this crime? We did not kill anyone. If we agree to vani we will be treated like animals.' Voice 1 Experts say that violence against girls in vani agreements is well known. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan tells of a ten-year-old girl. Her father gave her to a man in a vani agreement. She was payment for her father's debts. The police rescued the young girl. But the man had already forced her to have sex against her will. His family had also beaten her. They treated her as slave labour. There is nothing in a vani agreement that protects a girl against such treatment.
Voice 2 Abda is frightened that this will happen to her. She hides herself away in her home. The dead man's family lives close by. They claim that she is their property. They are full of anger. They say that she has insulted their honour by not keeping to the agreement. The head of the family says, Voice 4 ‘These girls are already our daughters-in-law. If they do not come to our home our families will fight again. Then more than two hundred people could die'. Voice 1 The Khan sisters want the government to enforce the law and release them from the vani agreement. They say that they have to take this action to protect themselves. They are also fighting for other girls who are unable to protest. These girls are also victims of vani agreements. Many are young girls. They cannot read or write. They have never gone to school. They cannot fight the system. Abda says, Voice 3 ‘We have to take this step. We want the authorities to solve our problems. We want newspaper and television reporters to tell our story. We are taking our case to the law of the land. It will be a long struggle. But if we win our case then it will help other young girls in similar situations'. Voice 2 People that support the old tradition of vani claim that it stops violence. It helps to unite communities and heal past hurts. Others say that the young girls are nothing more than a sacrifice. They are just payment for other people's wrong doing. Voice 1 It is difficult when traditional law and national law clash. Tradition is very important to many cultures. Traditional ways of life are often highly valued. Pakistan is a member state of the United Nations. The Charter of the United Nations supports cultural and traditional ways of life. But it also states that when these traditions harm a particular people group they should be questioned.
Voice 2 In this area of Pakistan the law has banned vani agreements. But the police do not always enforce it. The Khan sisters want that to change. They want the police to act to protect them. Abda and her sisters want people to know that they respect tradition. They respect their culture. But they say not all traditions are good. They want people to only take the best ideas from the past. They hope that their story has brought the issue of vani into public debate. They hope that the authorities will now give better support for all girls in this situation.
Voice 1 The writer of today's programme was Elizabeth Lickiss. The voices you heard were from United Kingdom and the United States. Computer users can hear our programmes on our website at www.radio.english.net. This programme is called ‘Vani'. Thank you for joining us in today's Spotlight programme. Goodbye.
