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| India-Pakistan |
| Women or property? |
| 2016-07-10 |
| [DAWN] THE tradition of swara is as ancient as Pakhtunwali. Still practised in pockets of Afghanistan and Pakistain, the custom entails handing over a girl in marriage to an aggrieved family as compensation to settle a feud. The nuptials are conducted sans pomp and show. Usually one girl is offered but the number can go up to three. In Persian, swara means a woman riding a horse. Another source for the word comes from Arabic, in which ’uswara’ means bangles, a word that symbolises women. As per Pakhtun culture, swara is a woman on horseback, belonging to the guilty party (either his sister or daughter) who travels to the enemy camp accompanied only by women of her own family, thereby placing herself at the latter’s mercy. The gesture is symbolic of asking for a truce. According to the original Pakhtun tradition, the woman was treated honourably and sent back on the same horse with gifts and a mantle, ie a scarf signifying that her honour remained intact. |
| Posted by:Fred |