Swarah: An Enigma

By: Dr. Sultan-I-Rome

Despite the fact that the Pukhtun society remained tribal and to some extent acephalous, the lives and actions of the people had been regulated and governed by unwritten but well-defined and well-known customs, norms, codes and rules called Pukhtu, which is also the name of the language of the people.It is a commonly known saying that ‘Pukhtu is not only a language but also the code that governs the lives of those who speak it’. The term ‘Pukhtunwali’ is also used for ‘Pukhtu’. The term Pukhtu is also used for enmity, for firm stand on viewpoint or decision and sometimes for inflexibility and obstinacy. To an outsider and a casual observer the Pukhtun society might seem disorderly, but it was/is, in fact, a well net and regulated one.

Badal is one of the fundamental rather the most significant of all the commandments and codes of Pukhtu. In case of murder, beating, injury, damage to honour and so forth badal (meaning revenge in this case) is considered liable and is taken without consideration for its consequences and costs. Badal is to be taken not only by the person who had received damages in any shape, but also by other members of his family or even sub-tribe or tribe, not only from the particular culprit or aggressor but also from his other family members and even sometime sub-tribe or tribe. It depends upon the nature of the act committed and also on that of the aggrieved person or family or tribe, how to react and take revenge. They, however, also have the options to accept compensation or even to forgive.

Besides murder or taking revenge for settling the score and protecting and keeping the honour, in Pukhtu there are other rules as well for solving the issue peacefully and amicably and bringing an end to the would-be bloodshed. Under one of these rules, if the aggrieved party agrees to settle the issue amicably, sometimes the party who has done the wrong gives a girl in marriage to a male member of the aggrieved party. Sometimes the aggrieved party asks for the girl. The girl of the aggressive side betrothed with or married to a male member of the aggrieved party in such a manner is called swarah (also written as swara).

Although, swarah ( ) has been rarely practiced and may be misused in some cases, it is, nowadays generally been misunderstood and misinterpreted. The girl married in this way is termed–by those who fail to understand the practice properly–price of the blood, a scapegoat, “a penalty for being a woman,”¹ and so forth. These are misreading. Swarah literally means the female who is riding. In absence of modern means of communication the people generally traveled by foot but the females of the well up families were brought to and from the houses of the father and the husband on horseback etc. If a bride showed lethargy and did not do domestic works she was often questioned that ‘swarah raghalay ye sah’ ( ) meaning ‘Have you come swarah (so nobly as on horse back) due to which you do not do work?’ It shows that swarah was not derogative or insulting term but honourable and prestigious, and that the practice has been instituted in good faith and the females thus married have been honoured and respected.

In the Pukhtun society it is the established fact and commonly recognised rule that not only in the swarah case the decision of the betrothal and marriage is made by the parents or other family members of the girl but is a general practice, too. Although, generally, in all cases the consent of the girl is somewhat sought in its own ways, the final decision rests with the family members. There is no difference in the manner either swarah or common marriage is arranged.

The significant aspect of the marriage arranged as swarah is that in this way both the families cement their relation by matrimony. The marriage becomes a bond to the effect that both sides would not resort to bloodshed in future. The offspring of the couple become a source of further strength to the relations. It further minimizes the chances of future bloodshed between the two families because in the Pukhtun society matrimonial relations are on the whole respected and maintained, which thus restrain the aggrieved family from resorting to badal. The marriage between the family members of the erstwhile enemies serve as guarantee of peace as planning for taking revenge by such family mostly become impossible, because the girl married may oppose it or leak out the secret of planning for taking the revenge, in case the planning becomes known to her. It also is feared and is possible as well that in case of violating the settlement and taking revenge, the girl now a member, by marriage, of the guilty family will not only disclose secrets but could also conspire with her paternal family to take revenge. This factor, thus, has worked as the force that restrained bloodshed between the families who not only settled the blood feud but also arranged such marriage. That is why such marriage not only has played vital role in bringing bloodshed to an end but it also turns enemies into relatives, and thus has remained an important code of Pukhtu. It also has been practised that both the parties gave their girls in marriage to each other in the course of the settlement of the blood feud when they have wished to further cement the peace and to do away with the least chance of breaking the peace in future.

The foremost important point, which is generally ignored while criticising swarah, is that not only the girl’s betrothal and marriage is decided by her family members and she has no say in the affair but the same is also the case with the boy as it is not the boy/person to whom the girl is betrothed and married to decide but his parents or family members or the mediators decide. Moreover, not only in the swarah cases the marriages are arranged but it also has been the common and universal way of marriage in the Pukhtun society. In the Pukhtun society, though somewhat consent of the male and the female is sought or at least they are informed, the final decisions are made by the parents or elders of the families concerned and hence almost all the marriages are arranged.

If it is unfair and unjust in respect of the female involved that she has no say or is denied the decision making power in her marriage affair, the same is also true for the male involved. It, however, is observed that the male side is generally ignored and hue and cry is made for the female side only. Those who are making hue and cry for the female side only, not only fail to apprehend the issue in proper perspective but suffer from prejudice and fall a prey to gender imbalance in favour of the females.

The statement of Dr. Sher Zaman Taizai that the woman married as swarah “is mistreated all her life. She is never regarded as an equal. She is persecuted”² is sweeping generalisation. There may be cases of such a nature but it depends upon the nature and behaviour of the family to whom the lady is married. If they mistreat the lady married as swarah they would also mistreat the ladies married in their family in common marriages and not as swarah. The Pukhtun society, like other societies, is not devoid of such families and individuals who do not regard their women and mistreat and persecute them but this behavior is not specific to swarah cases.

Taking a few selected cases or examples and making them a base for conclusions could never produce true picture and tangible thesis. To assess the situation scientifically, obtain trustworthy results, and reach an unprejudiced conclusion, a comparative study is needed. In such a study all the aspects of marriage in the Pukhtun society might be studied: such as the manner in which the common marriages are done. For example whether the marriages are arranged by the families or by the males and females themselves? Whether consents of the individuals involved are obtained or not? If consents of the individuals involved are obtained so how? If they do not give their consents how much their opinions are honoured? How the ladies married in common marriages are treated, and what is the ratio of good and bad treatment? And what is the ratio of good and bad treatment with the ladies married as swarah? Only then will it merit writing on the topic.