Vani (custom)
Form of arranged or forced child marriage / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Vani (Urdu: ونی), or Swara (سوارہ), is a custom where girls, often minors, are given in marriage or servitude to an aggrieved family as compensation to end disputes, often murder.[1][2] Vani is a form of arranged or forced child marriage,[3] and the result of punishment decided by a council of tribal elders named jirga.[4][5] Some claim Vani can be avoided if the clan of the girl agrees to pay money, called Deet (دیت). Vani is sometimes spelled as Wani or Wanni. It is a Punjabi word derived from vanay which means blood. It is also known as Sak and Sangchatti (سنگ چتی) in different regional languages of Pakistan.[6][7][8]
Though laws in 2005 and 2011 have declared the practice illegal,[9] the custom still continues to be practiced.[10] In 2004, the Sindh High Court outlawed all such "parallel justice" systems. But the writ of government is weak in rural areas, and local police often turn a blind eye.[11]