Articles and letters may be edited for the purposes of clarity and space. They are published in good faith with a view to enlightening all the stakeholders. However, the contents of these writings may not necessarily match the views of the newspaper.
Ghag custom in Waziristan
Ghag is a Pashto word which means to make a sound or announce . In the tribal areas of Pakistan, the word ghag has been adopted as a tradition . This ritual originated mainly in South Waziristan and other parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Ghag is an ancient tribal ritual in which a boy fires four shots outside a girl’s house and claims to marry the girl and no one in the community sends a relationship for woman and marries her relationship end they have a mate or not.
Even if the claimant boy himself refuses to marry, the girls remain unmarried. In 2012, the KP government passed a bill to eradicate Ghag which did not bring any significant change. Women of the KP are still worried today. Ghag ritual has been in our society for centuries and it is not known how long the Ghag will remain as a chain around the legs of girls and elderly women.
UROOJ WAZIR
Lahore
Evils of the dowry system
Please permit me to point out the evils of the dowry system that has wrecked many a meadow of married life. I shall feel grateful if you kindly spare me some space in your esteemed daily. The evil of dowry has marred several lives. It has assumed an alarming proportion in these days of soaring prices. The dowry system is a curse. It is a social evil. Today, no marriage is considered to be complete unless it is followed by a train of dowry. Hardly a day passes when we do not hear of a case of bride-burning here and there in the country. The poor parents of the girls have cold sighs when the marriage becomes a wreck.
The evil practice of dowry has given rise to many social ills. This cruel practice must be done away with. Boys and girls should come forward and take a vow not to take or give dowry. Mothers should be discouraged from giving dowry. Much should not be spent on marriages. Day-marriages should be popularized. The number of guests should be limited. Strict action should be taken against the defaulters. Let us hope that this monster of dowry is not allowed to blast the happy meadows of married life.
It is high time for us to take a necessary step against this curse of our social life. The only way to root it out is to motivate public opinion against it and the government should take effective steps against those who are found to be involved in this malpractice.
HAFIZ BILAL SHAH
Islamabad
Overloaded sugarcane
Tractor-trolleys overloaded with sugarcane are causing great traffic jam and inconvenience for the travellers in Sargodha and Khushab districts. These trolleys are loaded beyond their loading capacity. These are parked on the road and thus cover half of the road, leaving no space for small vehicles. These are becoming the cause of severe traffic jams and road mishaps. Moreover, the Sargodha-Khushab road is badly damaged and has large cracks which is an addition to misery.
To avoid unfortunate circumstances, this issue must be resolved by the local government. Separate roads should be constructed for transport of sugarcane trolleys or the overloading must be banned by the traffic police. In short-term solution the road sides must be filled by solid soil and cracks must be filled.
NAWAL SARFRAZ
Khushab
Corona effect on university students
The Corona pandemic has taken a huge toll on the population of Pakistan in the past two years, whether it is with lives, family separations and financial ruin, and with the ever-increasing mutations and the panic that ensues as a result of that, educational institutions have been lax lately with regards to social distancing rules, all of this has resulted in a cumulatively devastating effect on everyone, especially students of such institutions.
Having said that the constant push for them to perform both in studies as well as supporting their families they find it harder than ever to balance both. I personally see that the online education system needs to be reinstated which will greatly support those from rural areas in their various struggles as well as save precious lives from such virus menace.
ABDULLAH ALMUZAINI
Islamabad
The negligence
of SALU
Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur has been thoroughly engulfed with fiasco in doling out/delivering the result sheets of various programs of its affiliated collages. It has been an almost year since students of BA and BSc are yearning and pinning for their result sheets to continue their academic career. Unfortunately, myriad of students’ careers are in the state of limbo and devastation.
Furthermore, most of the students of collages are aspirants of the competitive exams like CSS and PCS. It is conspicuously hard for such students who are burning their midnight oil to meet their goals, to deal with such kind of injustice. Due to long delay in getting their degrees, students are unable to apply for the jobs of higher skills.
Hence, the Administration of Shah Abdul Latif University Khairpur should be probed and made accountable by relevant authorities for its dysfunctional process of announcing results. Otherwise the career of many students would remain stagnant in hot water for a long period that might trigger the plague and storm of unemployment.
NASRULLAH KHADIM
Kandhkot, Sindh
