We are living in 21st developed, cultured, educated and sophisticated century.

In this world, some

incidents show that we are breathing in cave age especially in Pakistan, where women are ill-treated
with the name of cultural diplomacy. (Ali & Humayun, 2016)

For past years even when Pakistan and India didn’t got independence the Swara was the social custom.
Writing about Pakistan even now this practice is common in tribal areas of Pakistan. (International
Commission of Jurists, 2018)

Swara is basically the giving of women by the guilty family to the aggrieved family in blood price. This
means women and girls referring towards daughter and sister are given away in the marriages without
their consent as a compensation for crimes committed by their men folk. This type of compensation is
awarded by the informal court known as JIRGA which is the meeting of elders of society. (International
Commission of Jurists, 2018)

This cruel, un-Islamic and heartless ritual was started almost four hundred years ago when two Pathan
tribes of Mianwali, Punjab scuffled a bloodthirsty conflict against each other. During this conflict about
800 people were killed. At that time Ruler during the Mughal Empire he called a meeting of elders of
families and determined that girls must be given as compensation. Pakistani women have been deprived
of the most fundamental of rights, such as the rights of education and even the rights to decide issues
connecting to their own marriage. In a society where family and tribal customs are very strict as well as
lack of education have forced women into position of obedience and horror, so most survive as an
existence of oppression without the most essential rights or the ability to defend themselves. When a
girl or women become the victim of Swara and sent to the enemy family there is small possibility of a
joyful life for her. She is given no honor there she has to face horrifying behavior and she live a life
inferior even than a slave servant. These unfortunate women sacrifices their wishes and entire life spend
in the living hell just for the sack of the crime of Father and Brother. These women victims of Swara only
can wait and wish for the death. Furthermore there are the written penalties for the Swara offence but
the implementation of those rule and laws didn’t happen most of the time. By the Pakistan Criminal Law
Amendment Act 2005, the practice of giving females in Badl-i-sulah (as an exchange of peace) was
declared a penal offence. The section 310-A of Pakistan Penal Code states; whoever gives a female in
marriage or otherwise in as an exchange of peace shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment which
may extend to 10 years. Declaring this an offence Police agencies does not perform their duties and
other authorities let this practice happen by taking money from the families and cover the Swara
offence. The ratio of lodging First Information Report is nil which not even to 2%. (Khan, 2017)

In constitution of Pakistan 1973 in Article 25, that the entire citizens are equal. So it is necessary that
men and women should be treated equally. Although constitution of Pakistan provides legal equality but
those rules are existing only on papers and are not enjoyed in practical this means constitution is ignored
and custom prevails. The government and state authorities enjoying their lives on their powerful seats
making moneys and do more expenses just to spend their luxury life and they don’t even care about
these Swara customs, honor killing, burning of living women. The government agencies should wake up
and need some preparations to reduce these brutal rituals. Individual can’t do any sort of things just to
stop these practices unless they have the support of the government and International organizations.
(United Nations, 2019)

To overcome these challenges, Non-Governmental Organizations and Human Rights Advocates can play a
crucial role to eradicate these sort of customs. (Khan, 2017)

In this developed period NGOs plays an effective role by creating awareness against such traditions. They
should create awareness the rights of women which are oppressed and raised their voices to every
corner of the globe through their media, journals and other plate forms. NGOs should provide shelters,
education and they need to provide Psychological assistance to the victims of Swara.(Khan, 2017)

Human rights advocates plays a crucial role for the creation and enforcement if stronger laws against
Swara custom. At both national and international level, advocates can work to bring attention to the
sever human rights violations associated with this practice. By engaging with policymakers they can push
for the enactment of stringent laws that explicitly prohibits Swara custom and ensure severe penalties
for the deterrence who violates human and women rights. Human rights advocates provides legal
assistance to support the victim of Swara and navigate them in filling cases and seeking justice for
victims. This support is vital in empowering victims to stand up against the abusers and seek redress.
Furthermore collaborating with international human rights organizations is crucial in bringing global
attention to the issue of Swara and applying pressure on the Pakistan government to take actions. By
partnering with organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the UN Human
Rights Council, advocates can amplify their efforts and gain international support. (United Nations, 2019)

References:
Ali, T., & Humayun, M. (2016). Swara: Custom and constitutional rights of women in Pakistan. Journal of
Political Studies, 23(2), 45-58. Retrieved from http://www.journalofpoliticalstudies.com

International Commission of Jurists. (2018). Impact of Jirga decisions on women's rights in Pakistan.
Geneva, Switzerland: Author.

Khan, S. A. (2017). Cultural diplomacy or oppression? Swara tradition in Pakistan. South Asian Studies,
32(1), 78-92. doi:10.1007/s12112-017-9367-5

United Nations. (2019). Human rights violations in Pakistan: Focus on gender-based violence. New York,
NY: Author.