Research Study on Extent and Dynamic of Punchayat System and its Impact on Marginalized Communities in Southern Punjab

People in rural communities of Pakistan experience a locally available, non-formal way of justice system, which is called Punchayat / Jirga. It is considered as economical source of acquiring justice. There is no membership criterion for joining it as a Sir punch’ or a part of decision making body. In most of the cases, the influenced people of a village consider themselves responsible for providing justice to the community. The overall objective of this study was to know about extent and dynamics of this system and people’s perception about it. This research study is an initiative of Policy Research and Advocacy Programme of AWAZCDS Pakistan. The Foundation conducted this empirical Study by taking samples from ten (10) districts of south Punjab. The quantitative data gained from questionnaires was further scrutinized and rechecked through qualitative information gathered through Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). Later on, in-depth interviews were carried out to further confirm the qualitative facts. The analysis shows that total 3 % males and 4 % female respondents consider Punchayat as very useful system of acquiring justice, where as 54 % males and 65 % females have an opinion that the system itself is fine, but, there is need to bring reforms to make it more human friendly.

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A study was conducted by AWAZCDS in March 2008 to assess the quality of water provided by the Water And Sanitation Authority (WASA) through water purification plants. WASA Multan has installed 15 water purification plants in Multan and study carried out by AWAZCDS with the technical support of Pakistan Council for Research on Water Resources (PCRWR) reveals that 11 out of 15 water purification plants are producing water which UNFIT for drinking purpose. This is worth mentioning that government had planned to install more than 7000 water filtration plants across the country but only 542 were installed to date and those are also failed to produce purified water,

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Acceptability and giving the women their rights of inheritance is a form of social protection, but its denial is making them more vulnerable to domestic and societal violence. Discourse on social protection has gained currency in the recent decades and has given a rapid economic transition in many developing countries across the world, including those in South Asia. Through its research on various aspects of violence against women, AWAZCDS- Pakistan has established view that violence is not only a women’s issue, or even a health issue, but an issue that influences the development process as a whole. Domestic violence costs development, obstructs participation in development processes and contradicts the goals of development.

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If urge for destruction is a creative urge, urge for construction, over and over again, happens to be destructive. So man is not only creator but at the same time, he is destroyer. Forests keep disappearing, rivers dry up, wild life is becoming extinct, the climates ruined and the land grows poorer and uglier every day. Walwat has been materialization of same gloomy picture that suffered from blind progress. Walwat, an area in the suburbs of Multan has been suffering badly from contamination of Earth’s environment with materials that interfere with human health, the quality of life, and the natural functioning of ecosystems was under a potent threat.

Walwat is located in union council 94 old Sher Shah Multan. This area is peopled with two thousand souls, experiencing miserable and pathetic mode of existence. Village Walwat nestles 600 houses. People of this hamlet are, up till now, deprived of proper roads for traveling and other indispensable services. Nevertheless, the weighty issue for them was aforementioned environmental problem. In this area chemical barrage and effluent has been hurled against the fabric of life. Sewage, industrial wastes, and agricultural chemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides were, to some extent, causes of people’s dismal condition but worst of all was water pollution. However in nature there are neither rewards nor punishments –there are consequences which are, deceitfully, directed to the poor who suffers for the luxuries of rich.

Industrial Area Multan had been pouring untreated effluent in torrents in that poor area, from its inception, in 1984. The area covers 16 acres and gives an idea about lack of forethought and lack of planning overtly. Myopic industrialists had done nothing for disposal and dumping of solid waste and effluent. It is said that sewerage system was developed in 1984 but it was a failure so industrialists hit upon an ingenious plan of open drainage system.

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Violence against the women is common in our society but it becomes more brutal and barbaric in the areas where the state institutions are weak and feudalists are godfathers. This is bitter fact that these feudalists become much strong er during the military regime as the state authorities do not bother about their unlawful acts in lieu of its own vested interests. Pakistan has remained under military regime for more than half of the period since its inception and during these regimes only military institutions and feudal bases were given priority by the state in every aspect of life.

History is evident that crimes and assaults against the poor particularly against the women always increased during these regimes. The incident of Nawab pur (Multan) back at 1980 in which a woman was forced to walk naked in the village as ordered by the village Sardars, similarly the worst incidents of Mukhtar Mai (Mirwala, Jatoi) and Sawer Mai (Vehari), happened in the military regimes and are like stigma upon the face of the southern region of Punjab Province of Pakistan. During the year 2002, 88 women were caught of honor killings, 56 people preyed to acid attacks out of them 29 women and 10 children lost their lives, whereas rest of them are still suffering and are neither dead nor alive. 422 women were the victims of sexual harassments and assaults including Mukhtar Mai. Apart from these figures, hundreds of other women were the victims of out dated customs like, honor killings, marriage with Holy Qur’an, Wanni, exchange marriages (Watta Satta) and violence at home and work place, Hudood Ordinance and Blasphemy laws. If we deeply study each and every above said case of women victimization, it would be easy to understand that Punchaits (traditional justice committees) are usually found responsible for these cruelties. This self made local institution, patronized by the state authorities, in the name of providing justice at the doorstep, needs to be challenged. In this book we have
emphasized on the social and political impacts of Punchait system upon our society.

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