Sex Education In Pakistani Educational Institutions?

Education about human sexual health, anatomy, intercourse, reproduction and other sexual features is generally termed as sex education. More specifically, it gives a student useful information about various emotional and physical changes relating to puberty, proper use of contraceptives, family planning, and various harmful sexual relations. Its major purpose is to minimize the risk of severe outcomes of unsafe sexual behavior like sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unwanted pregnancies. So, with the increase in number of STDs and unplanned pregnancies, need for sex education increased all over the world. Pakistan, being a highly populated country, is also in grave need of sex education but, presently, it is also opposed on several grounds. Although the opponents of sex education argue that this education is un-Islamic and motivates a student towards sex, nevertheless, it should be taught on university level because it will help Pakistan in population control and in creating awareness against STDs.

Academic institution is better option for sex education. Classrooms are formal and well organized structures for receiving any kind of knowledge. Also, well educated and trained teachers in such sensitive field of education are much reliable as compared to anybody in outside society. Actually, in Islam, it is the duty of parents to guide their children about various sexual matters but since in our society parents feel uncomfortable to educate their children about sexuality, academic institutions are the best alternative available. So, in Pakistan, sex education should be taught in academic institutions.

Among academic institutions, university is the most suitable place for sex education. Most importantly, on university level, almost every student is physically and mentally mature enough to understand the subject. Also, in schools or colleges, it is difficult for an adolescent to understand the details specifically in anatomy and physiology. Moreover, after graduation from university, marital life of majority of students starts, of which, sex is a formal and legal part. So, this increases the need of educating a university level student about safe and protected sex.

However, due to the conservative nature of Pakistani society, sex education is considered immoral and embarrassing. Even, according to many people, it is against the Islamic code of conduct to educate and guide young ones about sexual matters. But, within Islam there is enough proof and evidence to refute and discourage these claims. For instance, God is discussing topics like reproduction, creation, menstruation in the Holy Quran with great detail. Similarly, despite his highly sacred and respected personality, Prophet (P.B.U.H) discussed and answered queries about various sexual matters in large gatherings, without any hesitation. So, being a Muslim, one should not feel ashamed or embarrassed while discussing sexual issues.

Furthermore, sex education is criticized mainly due the misconception that it motivates students towards having sex. Actually, sex education neither discourages nor encourages a student to engage in sexual activities. It only provides useful knowledge about proper and safe sex. Moreover, it depends upon the choice and conscious of a person whether to go for sex or not. And, fortunately, in Pakistan religion is given a considerable value and preference; which can play an important role in restricting a student from indulging in pre marital sex activities. Similarly, in Pakistan, if single gender classes system is introduced for sex education in universities, where the teacher is also of the same gender as of students, the risk of student indulging in sexual activities can be reduced to negligible level. So, if the goal is to only educate, inform and guide a student about the realities and facts of sexual life, sex education is by no means a motivating force towards sex.

Sex education can rather act as a weapon against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Those diseases which are transmitted from one person to other by sexual contact are termed as STDs.  HIV/AIDs and Hepatitis are two of the major STDs prevailing in the country. According to Bhurgri (Department of Pathology, Agha Khan University), about 73,000 cases of HIV have been reported in Pakistan (1). Similarly, “one out of every ten Pakistanis suffers from either Hepatitis B or C” (Raza 1). Apart from these two STDs, many other like Chlamydia, genital, heroes, syphilis, gonorrhea etc are also reported in Pakistan. So, it can be inferred that STDs are prevailing in the country on a threatening level.

These diseases, if not controlled, can cause severe problems for our country. For instance, health sector of the country is already under a lot of stress and provided health facilities are unsatisfactory. If STDs are not given due attention at present, it will become much difficult for already weak health sector to control them. Apart from this, these diseases have the potential to create severe economic crisis for a poor country like Pakistan. In this context, the economic impact of HIV on African economy can be taken as example. According to Dixon, McDonald and Roberts “the pandemic has already reduced average national economic growth rate by 2-4 percent a year across Africa” (1). So, STDs have the potential to create great problems for the country.

In the meantime, these diseases can be easily controlled through sex education. Most of STDs are preventive in nature rather than curative i.e. prevention from these diseases is easier as compared to their treatment. Prevention, on the part of a person, merely requires knowledge about safe sex i.e. proper use of contraceptives and distance from harmful sexual relations. So, Pakistan can be easily safeguarded from them by creating awareness among the public about unprotected sex. Moreover, for the purpose of creating awareness, Pakistan has no better option than to educate all the university level students through a regular and comprehensive sex education. So, it is the need of the hour to implement proper sex education system in the country.

Besides protection from STDs, sex education can be helpful in controlling overpopulation. In Pakistan, the size of population is far greater than the amount of available resources. This has resulted in problems like poverty, unemployment, food shortage and low literacy rate. Nevertheless, this problem of overpopulation can be solved by eliminating unwanted pregnancies and by introducing the knowledge of family planning. So, sex education can play an important role in controlling overpopulation.

    Many cases of unwanted pregnancies are reported every year in Pakistan. If a woman is not willing to give birth to child but becomes pregnant either by force or mistake, then the pregnancy is termed as unwanted pregnancy. Lalani, in her article about unplanned pregnancies, quotes from Ansari that “the first demographic survey conducted in 1960s claims that about one third women wished to avoid pregnancy but were not practicing any method of family planning due to many reasons and resulted in unwanted pregnancies” (1). Since abortion is not legally allowed in Pakistan, it can be inferred that about one third of children are somewhat unwanted children. Clearly, this results in miserable child health and overpopulation. On the other hand, if Pakistani women are given knowledge about various methods to avoid and rescue themselves from unwanted and unbearable pregnancies, the problem of overpopulation can be solved up to great extent. So, in order to control population, the need for sex education becomes increasingly clearer.

Similarly, sex education also aims to educate an individual about family planning. Family planning refers to the ability of a parent to choose the most appropriate time to give birth to a child. This ability, on part of parents, requires useful knowledge about the effect of child birth on mother’s health and proper child rearing. In this context, sex education can be helpful in giving this particular knowledge with much detail. For instance, benefits and advantages of a small family are discussed which encourages students towards family planning. Moreover, students are educated about the techniques of birth control. So, if sex education is implemented in Pakistan, the problem of overpopulation will be solved and a much happier Pakistani society will emerge.

Concluding from the above discussion, it is in the broad national interest to introduce a formal sexual education system on university level. Because it can help the country to safeguard itself from two of the major dangers like sexually transmitted diseases and over population. Since, it is the health of the individuals upon which the prosperity of the country depends; these two dangers which, if not taken notice of, have the potential to cause grave problems for a poor country like Pakistan. And sex education can act as a weapon against STDs and over population. Although, the opponents offer some objections, these objections are either unwise or a solution to them exists.      

                                                                                                                  Written By: Fawad Marwat

The Nuclear Winter: Carl Sagan - Critique

The article “Nuclear Winter” was written in 1983 by Carl Sagan who was a renowned professor of astronomy and space sciences at Cornell University. This article aimed to provide evidence on the climatic effects of nuclear war. The writer says that in a nuclear war great quantity of soot and dust is lifted to the upper atmosphere which forms a layer that hinders the sunrays. Thus sunlight is reduced and severe cold weather sets in. At the time of its publication the article was of great public debate because United States and Soviet Union, which were both nuclear powers, were on the verge of war. So, there was every possibility that a devastating nuclear war would start. Although the article holds importance because it discusses new dangers of atomic war and emphasizes on finding a theoretical solution to the problem, it has some limitations like overstating the danger and its insignificance in the world of today.  

The writer starts the article by stating some statistics about the possible destruction that a nuclear warhead can bring. Then he talks about ozone depletion as a result of nuclear explosions. In nuclear explosions nitrogen of the air is converted into oxides which destroy the ozone layer.  Carl Sagan along with other colleagues, for the first time, researched on the climatic effects of the nuclear war. In his experiment, he assumed 5000 megaton warheads. As a result he found that due to the smoke and dust generated in the explosion, the temperature is liable to fall to minus 25 degree Celsius for months. Moreover due to the temperature drop, he says that all crops and animals would be destroyed. Similarly radioactive dose greater than 250 radiations will be received by 50 percent of northern hemisphere when the dust particles would start to descend. In the end he mentions that before fools rise to power and use nuclear weapons, we should find some theoretical solution to the problem.

The style of the article is informative with simple and easy language which enables almost every kind of reader to easily understand the purpose of the article. Moreover, it keeps its readers involved till the end because in every new paragraph they can find new and exciting information. However, the tone of the essay is too strong for the readers because the writer uses words and phrases like buildings would be vaporized, people reduced to atoms and shadows, extinction of human species, unburied bodies begin to thaw etc. The writer himself points towards this fact when at one place he says “some of what I am about to describe is horrifying”. That is why after reading the article, a reader becomes fear stricken and nervous.

In order to convince the readers about the authenticity of his own claim, the writer is using an effective technique of mentioning the names of few renowned scientists who agree with his work. For instance, he says “our work was further spurred by Paul Crutzen … and by John Bricks”. Similarly in the ending paragraphs he again uses this technique by saying that their results have been scrutinized by more than 100 scientists from United States, Europe and Soviet Union. As a result, his claims become convincing and reliable.

Throughout the essay the author has made vivid assumptions in order to support his argument. However at some places, the author has over assumed in some of his claims to back up his argument. For instance, he says that once nuclear war gets started, the world will not be able to contain or control it and at least 10,000 megatons will be exploded. But, at present, highly influential international organizations like United Nations and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are functioning all around the world which is capable of stopping the series of atomic explosions. Similarly, the author is assuming Earth’s atmosphere to be comparable to that of Mars. But due to the presence of life at Earth and its absence on Mars, the atmosphere of both can be much different as far as gases like oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide are concerned because these gases are produced by living organisms. So, Earth’s and Martian atmosphere cannot be assumed to be comparable. That is why the author is overstating the danger by using inappropriate assumptions.        

Through this article, the author is informing the world about three previously unknown risks of nuclear war i.e. the cold, the dark and the intense radioactivity. It is a fact that people and authorities try to quickly solve those problems whose dangers and risks are of high scale. Before Carl Sagan’s research, world knew only about the dangers of ozone depletion, huge loss of lives and economic instability as a result of nuclear war. So by mentioning these three dangers, Sagan has motivated the world to get rid of nuclear weapons due to which the article gains value.

The article enjoyed a lot of significance at the time of its publication but in the world of today this article loses some of its importance mainly because of two reasons i.e. unipolar world and advanced technology. After the dissolution of Soviet Union in 1991, the world is no more bipolar. The cold war between US and Soviet Union has come to an end with US left as the only superpower of the world. So, there is not much tension in the world politics as compared to that in 1980s. Also, the advancement made in technology like Missile Defense System, has enabled us to avoid the dangers of nuclear bombs. So, the fear of nuclear war has been reduced to some extent due to which this article loses some of its importance.

However, one of the praiseworthy and valuable aspects of the article is that it warns the world about the fact that we can find only a theoretical solution to the problem of nuclear weapons.  The writer says “nuclear war is a problem which can be treated theoretically”. It is known that in a nuclear war about 5,000 megatons are expected to be blown. Also it is a fact that the world cannot bear any experimentation with the nuclear warheads of such large scale in order to convince nuclear powers to abandon their nuclear weapons. Therefore, according to the writer, nuclear states must be convinced theoretically through researches and dialogues to get rid of these weapons. So, this suggestion raises the value of the article.

Concluding from the above discussion, it can be stated that the author’s research contributes a lot to the world peace. It is the mainly the fear of misuse of nuclear weapons any time in the future that is deteriorating the world peace at present. Although there exist certain structural and linguistic defects in the article, he is still quite effective in revealing the main idea that nuclear war will bring about unbearable conditions of severe cold and intense radioactivity. In order to pay tribute to the praiseworthy and valuable research of the author, the world authorities should take some serious steps to at least control the nuclear proliferation.  

                                                                                                        Written By: Fawad Marwat

What Was The Major Cause Of Downfall Of Muslim Empire?

There have been many nations in the history who have emerged from nothingness, ruled almost the entire world and then destroyed by others. Romans, Greeks, Persians and even Muslims are few examples of such nations. As far are Muslims are concerned, they rose from the deserts of Arabia and in a period of less than a century, they conquered Persia, Palestine, Egypt and had swept across North Africa and Spain and then for a period of four centuries, during Abbasid caliphate, they led the world in all aspects of education and prosperity. (1) This was the Golden Era of Muslims but Dark Age for West. While Muslims were enjoying development in philosophy, arts, architecture and technology, West did not see any progress for centuries in science and philosophy and was suffering from illiteracy and barbarism. (Perkins 1) But this prosperity of Muslims vanished after few centuries. The collapse of Islamic Empire started with the attack of Mongols. Resultantly, Islamic empire vanished and three separate empires i.e. Moghal, Ottoman and Iranian empire came into being. (Perkins 1) These empires, in turn, were easily destroyed by Western powers through colonization and world wars. Although some people argue that Muslims lost power due to external forces like Mongols and Christians, and that they had also left the true teachings of Islam, nevertheless, the main reason of downfall of Muslims was the religious orthodoxy because it resulted in the abandoning of science and women education.

The religion of Islam, like every religion, consists of two main parts i.e. Shariah (the ordained path) and Fiqh (the Islamic theology). “Shariah has certain laws which are regarded as divinely ordained, concrete and timeless for all relevant situations (for example, the ban against drinking liquor as an intoxicant)” (Shariah 1). So, the rules laid down by Shariah are unchangeable and unchallengeable. Whereas, fiqh “refers to the inferences drawn by scholars of the time” (Shariah 1). These scholars try to enable religious rules to adhere to the prevailing conditions of the society and thus increase the element of rationality and logic in Islamic principles. This practice is commonly termed as ‘ijtihad’. In the initial stages of Islam, ijtihad was encouraged due to which Islam evolved gradually into more science and reasoning based religion. That is why, according to Nowshervi “science was … like full moon during 10^th to 12^th century”. (1) However, in 12^th century, the gates of ijtihad were closed and scientific research largely ceased in the Muslim world. (Perkins 1) So, by not practicing ijtihad, distance was willingly created between Islam and science.

This kind of religious orthodoxy had also started in Christianity but reformers like Martin Luther (German priest) blocked its way through a famous reformist movement called Protestantism. This movement untied God’s revelation from secular institutions like science, philosophy, arts etc and rejected the concept of strict adherence to the words of God in matters of faith and practice. (What is Protestantism 1) Similarly, according to Ahmad, Muslims also got opportunity to get rid of their religious orthodoxy in the form of Mutazilites, the Islamic rationalist philosophers of early eighth century. (1) According to Hoodbhoy, they developed ilm-ul-kalam (the fusion of Greek logic and Muslim theology), which was to form the basis of Muslim scholasticism and dominate Islamic thinking for centuries. (97) It was the result of the efforts of these mutazilites that almost all forms of knowledge medicine, astronomy, philosophy, mathematics, natural sciences, music and the occult sciences flourished in the early five centuries of Islam. (Hoodbhoy 96) And that is why these five years proved to be the golden era of Muslims.

 But Mutazilites were not allowed to influence Muslims thinking for long. During the time of Caliph Al-Mutawakkil, these rationalists were tortured and killed and their properties were confiscated. (1) Moreover, they were removed from government jobs, accused of heresy and executed. (Hoodbhoy 100) So, these intellectuals, philosophers, scientists and rationalists were greatly unwelcomed by the orthodox Muslims of those times. Moreover, they were forcefully sent to Latin West where they were welcomed with open arms and were encouraged to lay the foundations of modern global civilization. (Ahmed 1) So, the Muslims did not take advantage of the opportunity which would have resulted in the revival of science in Islam.

 Moreover, it is a universally accepted fact that Muslims are the founders of modern science and technology. In the period between 8^th and 14^th century CE, when religious orthodoxy had not yet started, many world famed Muslim scientists like Jabir-ibn-hayan, Al-Kindi, Al-Farabi, Al-Haitham, Ibn-Sina etc contributed immensely to human knowledge. (Muslim Scientists 1) Similarly, world famed universities were built which attracted not only Muslim students but also students from West. Hoodbhoy points towards this fact by saying that “Baghdad and Spain during their heyday built universities to which thousands flocked”. (85)  But after 14^th century, education started slipping out from the hands of Muslims and that is why just a handful of Muslim scientists and intellectuals emerged in the world. Reason for this was that “the natural and rational sciences were considered secular (irreligious) and foreign to Islam…Many Mutakallimun (Islamic theologians) considered them (sciences) as innovations in Islam”. (Decline of Science 1)   Even though at that time certain key figures like Imam Ghazali were of the view that “a grievous crime indeed against religion has been committed by a man who imagines that Islam is defended by the denial of the mathematical sciences, seeing that there is nothing in these sciences opposed to the truth of religion”, the attention of the people had shifted towards either Sufism or other rigid orthodoxy instead of scientific innovations and discoveries. (Salam 1)  So, the voice of anti-orthodox Muslim thinkers did not hold any value.

Moreover, orthodox theologians allowed only those sciences which were useful for religious practices (amal). (Hoodbhoy 101)  They considered all other sciences as unimportant, western and led Muslims from the straight path. It is evident from the fact that after the European invention of printing machine in 15^th century, the Arabs did not use it for three centuries on the ground that mechanical printing of religious books and material was un-Islamic and irreverent. (Hoodbhoy 101)  Similarly, Imam Ghazali, who is known as the person who saved orthodoxy by depressing science, had declared in his time that Islamic philosophers like Ibn-Sina, al-Farabi, and others should be reckoned as unbelievers. (Hoodbhoy 104) So, that learning which was not actually anti-Islamic was considered as dangerous and irreligious.

Moreover, when science started to be unwelcomed by Muslims, all their scientific progress shifted to West. (Khan 1) West not only welcomed science from Muslims but also developed it to a magnificent extent. Stanton says that “the emergence of institutions of higher learning in twelfth century Europe occurred as a result of translation of Islamic intellectual and scientific works into Latin”. (147) Additionally, most historians are of the view that the arrival of Islamic intellect to Europe caused a great revolution in learning because before that Europeans scholars were struggling to engage in any kind of intellectual debate. (Stanton 156) Also, when science shifted from Muslims to West, there it was used for development and progress. It is known that after West had much developed as a result of science, philosophy, literature and arts, it became major opponent of Muslims. So, it was due to the shift of science and intellect from Muslims to West that Muslims lost strength and power. 

As today the scientific progress is necessary for a nation to stay alive and overcome the challenges of ever changing world, similarly, at that time, distance of Muslims from science and technology was the confirmation of their downfall. Science is not only related to technology but many other fields like philosophy, medicine, economics, literature, music etc are greatly dependent upon science. So, when Muslims discouraged it, all these fields were badly affected. Moreover, Muslims threw their own rationalist ideas towards West, where they were used to bring development and prosperity. So, this discouragement of science due to religious orthodoxy was one of the reasons of downfall of Muslims.

Religious orthodoxy rejected not only science and reasoning but also women’s education. Since women make half of the population, women’s education not only contributes to economic, scientific and cultural development of a nation but also plays an important role in its social progress. Realizing this fact, Islam, whoso major aim is the welfare of its followers, has provided enough support to the women’s education. For instance, Dr. Tariq quotes from Quran that “it is the duty of every Muslim man and woman to seek knowledge”. (1) So, in the golden era of Islam, when religious orthodoxy had yet not started, according to Jawad, there were no limitations on women’s education and they were free to choose any field of knowledge which interested them. (21) Moreover, there were cases in which women were the teachers of men, for instance, the wives of Muhammad (P.B.U.H) taught Quran, hadith and Islamic jurisprudence to women and also to the Prophet’s companions and followers. (Jawad 20)  Apart from this, many other Muslim women contributed towards literature, medicines, military services etc. So, this situation not only resulted in the betterment of women but also in the progress of entire Muslim society in the initial stages of Islamic civilization.

However, women’s education was not allowed to prevail for long. Due to the orthodox and patriarchal interpretation of Islamic teachings that started first in the Abbasid caliphate, Jawad says that female education was considered a threat to Islamic customs and way of life of those societies. (25) Moreover, “it was believed that basic awareness of religious rites and memorizing part of Quran was sufficient for them. (Jawad 24) Similarly, what at maximum was expected from them was to become a compassionate mother and a dutiful wife. (Jawad 25) Thus, it is evident that by banning women from receiving education, half of the population was not allowed to get advantage of their abilities and potential. Moreover, this discrimination and injustice was done only due to religious orthodoxy and lack of vision in the Muslim theologians and authorities. So, ban on women’s education as a result of religious orthodoxy was also one of the main reasons of downfall of Muslims.

From the above discussion, it is evident that by discouraging science and women education, Muslims have themselves invented the causes of their destruction. Moreover, all this happened because of the orthodox and authoritative mentality of Muslim rulers and legislators. However, the orthodox thinkers, of present, define the downfall of Muslims from their own point of view. According to them, the Muslims enjoyed prosperity and success in the golden era because they exhibited a pious behavior and carried out their religious obligations. Thus, the success was a divine gift. Hoodbhoy also mentions this statement by saying that according to orthodox people “as long as Muslims prayed punctually, performed Haj, fastened in the month of Ramazan, gave Zakat, and religiously observed the rituals, they prospered”. (86) And the downfall of Muslims, according to orthodox thinkers, started when anti religious and impious activities started in Muslim society. “The decline is ascribed to the practice in courts of the caliphate of vices like drinking, singing, dancing and sexual laxity” is the view of orthodox people, according to Hoodbhoy. (86) So, they think that the distance from religion was the major cause of Muslims’ downfall.

But, it is a fact that the major progress that occurred in the Muslim times was in the period of Harun-al-Rashid and Al-Mamun. They both were liberal rulers and strictly opposed religious orthodoxy. According to Hoodbhoy, their liberalism was a source of great displeasure to the orthodoxy of their times. (86) Moreover, they were greatest supporters of science and philosophy in the history of Islam. For instance, in order to create Bait-al-Hikma (the house of wisdom), Mamun sent emissaries as far as Byzantium to search and purchase scientific and philosophical work. (Hoodbhoy 98) So, it can be inferred that it was mainly science and education and not the religion due to which Muslims prospered. Since religion is a personal thing and is necessary for deliverance in the life hereafter, it is useful for the betterment of individual but alone it is not enough to ensure the development and progress of a nation. This fact is evident from the example that “when Napoleon attacked Egypt, all the students of Al-Azhar University were ordered to do nothing else but to recite Surah Yaseen and in this way God would award them with success against Napoleon. They did so and were defeated easily at the hands of Napoleon” said Dr Firaqi (Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, LUMS) in an interview. So, it is evident that distance from religion, whether occurred or not, cannot be considered as the cause of downfall of Muslims.

Similarly, it is also a general conception that Muslims are not themselves responsible for their downfall. One set of explanations concentrate on the external factors like Mongols, crusades and the colonization and assign the downfall primarily to military defeats. (Hoodbhoy 95) Thus it is considered that it were the attacks of foreign forces due to which Muslims lost rule and power. But, it is a fact that the nation which has high technology and resources as compared to the opponent nation can subjugate its opponent. So, by banning science and innovations Muslims had surely let themselves apart from modern technology of that time. On the other hand, Western powers, by embracing the science developed by early Muslims, were quickly advancing their war technology. And when their technology had much surpassed that of Muslims, they easily defeated Muslim forces. So, if the Muslims had continued the trend set in science and technology by their elders, foreign forces like Mongols and Christians would not have been able to conquer Muslim territories.

After Muslims had lost much of their power and influence as a result of distance from science and education, they should have learned lesson from their past mistakes. Muslim leaders and legislatures should have thought of some reforms and improvement in their strategy, in order to regain lost rule and influence. They should have revived the culture of science and education in Muslims in order to compete with other nations of the world. But, unfortunately they failed to do so and as a result Muslims gradually lost control over their own territories. This lack of vision has continued even to the present day, with the result that Muslims are currently the most under developed nation of the world.

                                   Until and unless Muslims of the world get rid of the extremist approach and intolerance towards science, innovation and women education, they cannot compete with already developed nations of the world. In the medieval period, West followed the same guideline and not only competed with the then superpower i.e. Muslims but also surpassed them. At that time, their basic ideology was to not only accept the valuable sciences from Muslims but also further develop them. Although, orthodox theologians of today, like those of past, are hampering the way of science and education, they should be neglected and Muslims of the world should focus on these fields.           

                                                             Written By: Fawad Marwat

Justice Through The Court Of Law And Through The Jirga

The main aim of justice is to create a free, fair and happy society, where fundamental rights of individuals are respected. Also, it is not only the responsibility of government to provide justice to every individual but also of the society in which the individual is living. That is why, apart from a well organized judicial structure on country level, Pakistan do have some non-governmental institutions like Jirga and Panchayat, working in rural societies for the provision of justice. Courts are government led judicial structures that provide justice in the light of a well-established legal code of the country called constitution. Jirga and Panchayat derive their authority from the prevailing code of conduct and morality in their respective societies. Here instead of Jirga and Panchayat both, we narrow down the discussion to Jirga only. Yousafzai and Gohar define Jirga as a body comprising of local elder and influential men (mostly from two to ten) who sit in a circle without any president or secretary (17).   

Although the court of law and Jirga both serve the same purpose of providing justice to the individuals and in this context, there are certain similarities in both systems like consensus of masses, still both systems are much different in their procedural norms and principles especially in case of murder.

Judicial institution of a society is accepted only when a legitimate authority backs it. Since the legitimacy of any authority is primarily based upon the consensus of masses, both the judicial systems derive their authority from their respective masses. Jirga still operates in Pushtoon society because Pushtoon nation recognize its legitimacy while Pakistan Judicial System is the only hope of urban class to receive justice. 

In order to evaluate the procedural norms of both systems, we first take into account a situation where an offender has committed an unintentional murder i.e. accidental killing of a person in crossfire between two other parties or in a road accident. Under the Jirga system if the members of Jirga are satisfied that the murder is unintentional, they will settle the dispute through head money and a public apology only (Yousafzai and Gohar 36-37). In court of law this type of murder is termed as Qatl-e-Khata for which they also look for the factor of negligence and rashness and whoever commits Qatl-e-khata is liable to Diyat (payment made to the heirs of victim) as well as imprisonment which may extend up to five years as tazir (Mehmood 112).

Both the systems differ in their approach to intentional murder as well. Jirga, like court, first needs to prove that the murder was intend but unlike courts “when it is difficult to prove whether the event occurred accidently or whether there was some malice involved, onus of providing such proof lies with the party under suspicion of murder. The victim party can only observe the things silently” (Yousafzai and Gohar 37).  Yousafzai and Gohar further say that when the murder is proved to be intentional then according to the Jirga system the murderer party provides the victim party with cash money and more often with the transfer of girl (for marriage), in order to settle down the dispute (37). In courts of law, both, the defendant and the plaintiff, are required to plead their case. Moreover, being a well developed institution, court can use modern techniques like autopsy report and finger prints to prove the murder. When intentional murder is proved, it is then termed as Qatl-e-Amd for which depending upon the gravity of case, apart from the punishment of Diyat the murderer can be hanged to death or he can be imprisoned for a term, which may extend to twenty-five years (Mehmood 93).

The menace of murder in the name of Honor Killing has always been an integral part of Pakistani rural society. The killing of a boy or girl mostly due to sex, adultery, and rape is termed as Honor Killing. There is room for Honor Killing in the Jirga. Yousafzai and Gohar say that even the Jirga can itself morally force the father or brother of the boy or girl to kill their respective offspring (37). Whereas, court of law does not has any room for the Honor Killing and has same punishment for the Honor Killing as for Qatl-e-Amd (intended murder).

Concluding from the above-mentioned facts, we can say that although both systems differ up to some extent in their procedural norms, they still are doing the noble work of providing Justice to the masses. Justice is upon which the social stability of any society depends. It not only helps in promoting economic and political growth but also attributes to the overall welfare of the society. The need of the hour is to establish strong political institutions backed by legal authority to provide efficient, speedy and fair Justice to the society.

                                                                                                                   Written By: Fawad Marwat