Misusing authority

The killing of a madressah student and the Balochistan honour killings show a brutal society

There seems no relationship between the beating to death of a madressah student in Swat district, and two honour killing incidents in Balochistan, but both show that society has condoned a misuse of authority. In a Swat village, a student was killed after a beating by a teacher, and the madressah was shut down, with the 170 students being returned to their families. The DPO Swat said that the statements of students showed that there were other cases of beatings of students. He also said that samples had been taken to check if there were elements of sexual abuse. Madressahs had come into bad odour recently after a number of cases of sexual abuse were uncovered. Another abuse is now coming to the fore, that of beating. And not just beating, but killing students. It should be noted that while old-school teachers defend beating children, it has long gone out of vogue in pedagogical circles. Indeed, is it not better that 100, indeed 1000, children go ignorant than one being killed?

The honour killing of two couples, one around Eidul Azha, and which only gained traction after a grisly video of the gunning down of the couple went viral, the other of a man who shot dead his daughter and nephew in Quetta district. The latter having gone on the net, and the other not, perhaps had something to do with 14 people being arrested, including the chief of the Satakzai tribe, who had ordered the killing, and the perpetrator of the second escaping. Though the Zina Ordinance provides for the death sentence for married offenders, no execution has been carried out nor have the stringent evidentiary requirements been fulfilled. There is no way a tribal chief can arrogate to himself the powers of a court, or a father. However, both have  certain authority, and there is clear sign that they have extended their authority beyond the bounds allowed by the law.

The government must wake up and realize that such events challenge its own authority. It should ensure that its courts and laws provide a better quality of justice than tribal chiefs or even fathers, and it should ensure the access of all children to education where the old saw, that sparing the rod means spoiling the child, is rejected for the humbug it has been show to be.

Editorial
Editorial
The Editorial Department of Pakistan Today can be contacted at: [email protected].

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