These class 7 children want Harry Potter to save the country
* President Musharraf = Lord Voldemort
* Benazir Bhutto = Umbridge
* Quaid-e-Azam = Dumbledore
* Shaukat Aziz = Thackneize
* The media = Order of the Phoenix
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: A group of class seven students at a private school in Karachi, for whom the state of emergency is a completely alien and unprecedented concept, are comparing the current state of affairs to the adventures of Harry Potter and wondering if President Musharraf is impressed by Lord Voldemort, the villain in JK Rowling’s immensely popular Harry Potter series.
“My students might be young but it is heartening to see how well informed they are,” said Sehar Rizvi, who teaches the seventh graders at a local private school. She felt the students did a pretty good job on the analogies of characters that they had been assigned.
“What distresses them the most is the absence of [a character corresponding to] Dumbledore and they can’t quite mark anyone as accomplished as the greatest wizard of all,” said Sophiya, the teacher who had come up with the idea of the class discussion and assignment. She said she planned to now put it up on the main school board to make students understand the importance of what the emergency operation is.
When Daily Times asked the students for ideas, a lot of them came up with Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah for the simple reason that he and Dumbledore were both deceased.
Among other factors, 12-year-old Saad Zia felt that Dumbledore and Jinnah were similar in that their followers were in danger. “Quaid-e-Azam was a lawyer and his followers, the lawyers and the Supreme Court are now in danger and Dumbledore was the headmaster and his students and school were in danger.”
Twelve-year-old Hamza Niazi felt Voldemort and Musharraf were similar because they were both supporters of “militancy”. “Voldemort wanted to finish off defense against the dark arts and teach in the school of wizardry. In our situation, Musharraf wants to finish off the judiciary which would defend the weak, and turn the country into a dictatorship,” the 12-year-old opined.
The children compared General Musharraf and the military’s take over as the one conducted by Voldemort and his death eaters, while Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry was likened to Harry Potter and the lawyers are Harry’s friends.
The students felt PTV was similar to ‘Daily Prophet’, the wizardry newspaper, while the other news channels that have been banned were compared to ‘The Quibbler’, which was the newspaper that went against Voldemort and was then shut down after the villain and his allies kidnapped the editor’s daughter.
They compared the code of conduct for the media (no negative comments about the president or government) to the ‘taboo law’ imposed in the last Harry Potter book. The army and other law enforcing agencies were said to be the ‘snatchers’ (Voldemort’s workers) who used to catch witches and wizards who dared to utter the dark lord’s name.
They also compared Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to Thackneize, who was the prime minister of the wizards appointed by Voldemort and had been put under the imperious curse.
The children’s most insightful observations were those regarding Benazir Bhutto. They felt she was similar to Umbridge, an evil ministry witch who had given Harry a hard time in his fifth year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, others felt that Bhutto could be Voldemort’s faithful servant Bellatrix Lestrange as well.
The students did not forget those whose loved ones were arrested or killed. Their sorrow was likened to the presence of dementors, creatures that took away all hope and happiness but were invisible to ‘muggle’ (non-wizards) eyes.
The most creative comparison was that of the ‘Order of Phoenix’, a secret society working hard to bring down the death eaters and Voldemort independent of the ministry’s governance. The students felt the media was playing that role by ensuring that the whole world was aware of the dark times that were being faced by Pakistanis.
For 11-year-old Meena, the situation was similar to that in the books when Voldemort takes over the ministry of magic and starts hunting down Harry Potter. “We just hope there is a Harry Potter out there somewhere who will save us.”
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
hype of BB's return
O-Level students get up close and personal with the textbook BB
* From the icon to the irresponsible politician, Karachi young ’uns have a spectrum of opinions on the new girl in town
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: Most youngsters who are part of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) or support it have mostly only encountered Benazir Bhutto on the pages of books or on the Internet. But this has not deterred many of them from backing her because their elders have made sure they are well conversant with the party’s ideology.
“The number of children that you must have seen on TV during the rally should be a good enough example that we PPP fellows grew up in an environment that enabled us to respect BB the same way as we respect Fatima Jinnah,” said Haseeb Chandio, an O-levels student.
Nineteen-year-old Jam Usman, an A-Level student, recalled staying up all night waiting for the poll results to be announced. “My father has been with the PPP for as long as I can remember. I have grown up with the excitement of elections and seeing MNAs and MPAs from all over the province coming in to see my father at odd hours.” Usman comes from a well-known political family and has a strong sense of loyalty towards the PPP, the reason for which, he says, is not Benazir herself. “It is not so much Benazir who is an icon for me, but it is the party, which has been a part of my upbringing even though it has remained relatively inactive over the last few years.” He said in his immediate and extended family, every child grew up a staunch PPP supporter and had some kind of a direct link with the Bhutto family. He hopes to follow in the footsteps of his father and uncles who are all politicians and become one himself one day.
However, this sentiment seems to be part of only those who have grown up with politics as a way of life. Others do not know much about Benazir as a leader and do not have any particular liking for the party either.
“She is making all the right promises and saying all the right things, and I don’t see anyone else getting as much importance at the moment but hearsay tells me differently about her when she was in power. Of course what matters is not what she has done in the past but what she can do for the future,” said Hussain Ghaznavi, another A-level student. He felt people really wanted her to return and it seemed like the right thing at the moment because Musharraf, who he believed had done a good job as president, was also in agreement with her.
Most of Hussain’s fellow students were also supportive of President Musharraf and believed Benazir Bhutto could be the perfect choice if they were working together.
One of them, however, felt skeptical a woman could lead. “I don’t think a woman as a leader is a very good idea,” said Talib Rizvi. “Women are generally more emotional and even Islam says two women make one witness. It’s just the way God has made them and I for one don’t see a woman in charge as a very good idea.” He substantiated his rationale by using Benazir herself as an example. “She had her chance twice and hasn’t been seen since and now suddenly she is back for the elections. Isn’t that a little dodgy?” he questioned. Talib also commented on the slogan “Benazir aaye gi, rozgar laye gi” and said what good would jobs do for the people who had lost a family member because of the bomb blasts at Bhutto’s reception rally. “If people keep dying because of the rallies she will be conducting over the next two months, what do the poor stand to gain from the jobs she creates if she comes to power? The people who have died have families who are now suffering in so many ways, all because they felt the need to support not the country but a leader who may or may not come into power in the next two months. That’s very irresponsible.”
Tazeen Bari, 18, said she didn’t know Benazir except for the general history of Pakistani leaders but after the bomb blasts and the death of so many people, she thinks Benazir should be disallowed from even contesting the elections. “I am horrified at how a political leader can put the lives of innocent people at stake just to make a show of her popularity. Her speech could have more effectively been communicated through a press conference as was done later on anyways.”
However, 16-year-old Aurangzeb Ghaznavi had a very important point to make. “If people don’t start thinking for themselves and just follow in the footsteps and schools of thought of their elders, which are fast becoming obsolete like our politicians, the next generation to come into power will repeat the mistakes and it will become a vicious cycle.”
* From the icon to the irresponsible politician, Karachi young ’uns have a spectrum of opinions on the new girl in town
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: Most youngsters who are part of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) or support it have mostly only encountered Benazir Bhutto on the pages of books or on the Internet. But this has not deterred many of them from backing her because their elders have made sure they are well conversant with the party’s ideology.
“The number of children that you must have seen on TV during the rally should be a good enough example that we PPP fellows grew up in an environment that enabled us to respect BB the same way as we respect Fatima Jinnah,” said Haseeb Chandio, an O-levels student.
Nineteen-year-old Jam Usman, an A-Level student, recalled staying up all night waiting for the poll results to be announced. “My father has been with the PPP for as long as I can remember. I have grown up with the excitement of elections and seeing MNAs and MPAs from all over the province coming in to see my father at odd hours.” Usman comes from a well-known political family and has a strong sense of loyalty towards the PPP, the reason for which, he says, is not Benazir herself. “It is not so much Benazir who is an icon for me, but it is the party, which has been a part of my upbringing even though it has remained relatively inactive over the last few years.” He said in his immediate and extended family, every child grew up a staunch PPP supporter and had some kind of a direct link with the Bhutto family. He hopes to follow in the footsteps of his father and uncles who are all politicians and become one himself one day.
However, this sentiment seems to be part of only those who have grown up with politics as a way of life. Others do not know much about Benazir as a leader and do not have any particular liking for the party either.
“She is making all the right promises and saying all the right things, and I don’t see anyone else getting as much importance at the moment but hearsay tells me differently about her when she was in power. Of course what matters is not what she has done in the past but what she can do for the future,” said Hussain Ghaznavi, another A-level student. He felt people really wanted her to return and it seemed like the right thing at the moment because Musharraf, who he believed had done a good job as president, was also in agreement with her.
Most of Hussain’s fellow students were also supportive of President Musharraf and believed Benazir Bhutto could be the perfect choice if they were working together.
One of them, however, felt skeptical a woman could lead. “I don’t think a woman as a leader is a very good idea,” said Talib Rizvi. “Women are generally more emotional and even Islam says two women make one witness. It’s just the way God has made them and I for one don’t see a woman in charge as a very good idea.” He substantiated his rationale by using Benazir herself as an example. “She had her chance twice and hasn’t been seen since and now suddenly she is back for the elections. Isn’t that a little dodgy?” he questioned. Talib also commented on the slogan “Benazir aaye gi, rozgar laye gi” and said what good would jobs do for the people who had lost a family member because of the bomb blasts at Bhutto’s reception rally. “If people keep dying because of the rallies she will be conducting over the next two months, what do the poor stand to gain from the jobs she creates if she comes to power? The people who have died have families who are now suffering in so many ways, all because they felt the need to support not the country but a leader who may or may not come into power in the next two months. That’s very irresponsible.”
Tazeen Bari, 18, said she didn’t know Benazir except for the general history of Pakistani leaders but after the bomb blasts and the death of so many people, she thinks Benazir should be disallowed from even contesting the elections. “I am horrified at how a political leader can put the lives of innocent people at stake just to make a show of her popularity. Her speech could have more effectively been communicated through a press conference as was done later on anyways.”
However, 16-year-old Aurangzeb Ghaznavi had a very important point to make. “If people don’t start thinking for themselves and just follow in the footsteps and schools of thought of their elders, which are fast becoming obsolete like our politicians, the next generation to come into power will repeat the mistakes and it will become a vicious cycle.”
post jamia hafza stress
Parents debate home schooling vs madrassas
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: A few parents, who had been sending their children to madrassas for Islamic education, expressed concern when contacted by Daily Times over what their children might be learning. Some of them said they pulled their children out and decided to ask maulvis to teach them at home while others said they preferred the madrassa environment.
“Although I have met the maulvi sahab who was teaching my sons and he seemed like a decent enough man, it is a scary thought what my children must have been learning,” Saera Imdad told Daily Times. “My husband and I discussed pulling them out but it seems unreasonable to judge all maulvis as terrorists.” Saeras two sons go to the mosque daily so that they can read the Quran with meaning and reference to the Hadith and Sunnah. She believes that clerics who teach at home fail to give their students as good an education as a mosque’s environment can offer. Saera knows a group of eight mothers who send their children to the mosque to learn the Quran after school. “Our children study together. We used to meet often and realized that our kids had reached the age when they should start reading the Quran, so we decided to enroll them all together after school at a nearby mosque. But now, four of us have taken our children out of the madrassa for fear of any violence,” said one of the mothers.
Maliha Nishat sends her two sons to a madrassa but has recently employed a maulvi to come to her house. “I would be more satisfied if they are taught under my supervision,” she said. “I really don’t trust what my children might be learning in a madrassa even if I have complete faith in their teacher.” Maliha’s husband takes a keen interest in making sure the boys learn proper wazu and namaz, and from a young age, read the Quran with understanding so that it becomes a habit in their later years. When asked why only boys were being sent to madrassas, Saera said that mothers with daughters felt that girls could learn the essentials of religion from their mothers. One such mother is Uzma Naz who has eight-year-old twins, a daughter and son. Her daughter has been studying the Quran at home while her son goes to a madrassa. “The method used by the maulvi saheb who comes home to teach my daughter, and the maulvi saheb at the madrassa seem pretty much the same. Both children have equal knowledge and are learning at approximately the same pace. Therefore, I decided to teach my son at home as well,” she said.
Saera said most mothers had been taking Arabic and Quran classes as well. “Our children go to private schools where they study well but when we see their seniors, we fear that our kids might just go astray and not know their religion at all.”
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: A few parents, who had been sending their children to madrassas for Islamic education, expressed concern when contacted by Daily Times over what their children might be learning. Some of them said they pulled their children out and decided to ask maulvis to teach them at home while others said they preferred the madrassa environment.
“Although I have met the maulvi sahab who was teaching my sons and he seemed like a decent enough man, it is a scary thought what my children must have been learning,” Saera Imdad told Daily Times. “My husband and I discussed pulling them out but it seems unreasonable to judge all maulvis as terrorists.” Saeras two sons go to the mosque daily so that they can read the Quran with meaning and reference to the Hadith and Sunnah. She believes that clerics who teach at home fail to give their students as good an education as a mosque’s environment can offer. Saera knows a group of eight mothers who send their children to the mosque to learn the Quran after school. “Our children study together. We used to meet often and realized that our kids had reached the age when they should start reading the Quran, so we decided to enroll them all together after school at a nearby mosque. But now, four of us have taken our children out of the madrassa for fear of any violence,” said one of the mothers.
Maliha Nishat sends her two sons to a madrassa but has recently employed a maulvi to come to her house. “I would be more satisfied if they are taught under my supervision,” she said. “I really don’t trust what my children might be learning in a madrassa even if I have complete faith in their teacher.” Maliha’s husband takes a keen interest in making sure the boys learn proper wazu and namaz, and from a young age, read the Quran with understanding so that it becomes a habit in their later years. When asked why only boys were being sent to madrassas, Saera said that mothers with daughters felt that girls could learn the essentials of religion from their mothers. One such mother is Uzma Naz who has eight-year-old twins, a daughter and son. Her daughter has been studying the Quran at home while her son goes to a madrassa. “The method used by the maulvi saheb who comes home to teach my daughter, and the maulvi saheb at the madrassa seem pretty much the same. Both children have equal knowledge and are learning at approximately the same pace. Therefore, I decided to teach my son at home as well,” she said.
Saera said most mothers had been taking Arabic and Quran classes as well. “Our children go to private schools where they study well but when we see their seniors, we fear that our kids might just go astray and not know their religion at all.”
Eid's attraction for non-muslims
these were small things i learnt during ramzan this year.. thought i'd give in the interesting facts..
How Eid attracts non-Muslims
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: Primarily a Muslim festival, Eid is also celebrated by people of the minority religions settled in Karachi. Daily Times takes a look at how Eid beings them together.
“Customers aren’t usually very enthusiastic around Diwali or other Hindu festivals, but during Eid, they make a special effort to include us non-Muslims too by a giving a hefty tip or a simple Eid greeting,” said Geeta, who works for a local beauty salon. “Perhaps the reason for this is people are mostly very generous during Eid and want to show off their religious and cultural values.”
According to a small and random survey, most Eid melas, which usually crop up in the last ten days of Ramadan, are set up by non-Muslims and even though shopkeepers in shopping centers such as Clifton’s Uzma Market or Gulf Way Shopping Mall do experience an increase in sales, what causes real traffic blockage on the roads are these stalls. Seven stalls of bangles and henna have been set up around Agha’s Supermarket, six of which have been set up by non-Muslims.
“I have been setting up a stall for the past 17 years at Meena Bazaar and every year, we have a very good turnout,” said Mona, who owns a beauty parlor in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. “Eight years back, I started setting up two stalls, one at Meena Bazaar and one at Uzma.” Mona is in her early forties and says she has been a part of the Eid festivities for as long as she can remember.
Rita, a very old employee of Mona’s parlor, said the unique selling point of their stalls were simple things such as elastic and safety pins that people usually put off till the last minute and then end up forgetting about. “Although a few dozen girls are always looking for the perfect shade of nail polish to go with their Eid clothes, the fact is that these make-up products don’t sell as well as other small accessories,” she said.
Girls at another henna stall said that business was not all that well but they were expecting it to pick up by the 27th of Ramadan. “That’s when most families start focusing on Eid shopping and can’t wait around for cheaper stalls,” said Jagdish, who by profession is a dog trainer but sets up a stall for his wife and sisters who work for beauty parlors. “For the lower class, this is not just a money-making scheme but a necessity to provide for our families in these times of high inflation.”
Prices of everything from food to clothes sky rocket during Ramadan. So is it really unfair to pay 100 rupees for henna on a one palm and 200 to 500 rupees for the perfect matching bangles?
Many shoppers felt that it was unfair that such unreasonable prices were charged for small luxuries around Eid. “It is true that our prices are not very reasonable but it has always been so. This just shows that the general public does not learn and keeps putting off shopping till the last minute which is a good time for shopkeepers to make some extra money,” points out Jagdish.
How Eid attracts non-Muslims
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: Primarily a Muslim festival, Eid is also celebrated by people of the minority religions settled in Karachi. Daily Times takes a look at how Eid beings them together.
“Customers aren’t usually very enthusiastic around Diwali or other Hindu festivals, but during Eid, they make a special effort to include us non-Muslims too by a giving a hefty tip or a simple Eid greeting,” said Geeta, who works for a local beauty salon. “Perhaps the reason for this is people are mostly very generous during Eid and want to show off their religious and cultural values.”
According to a small and random survey, most Eid melas, which usually crop up in the last ten days of Ramadan, are set up by non-Muslims and even though shopkeepers in shopping centers such as Clifton’s Uzma Market or Gulf Way Shopping Mall do experience an increase in sales, what causes real traffic blockage on the roads are these stalls. Seven stalls of bangles and henna have been set up around Agha’s Supermarket, six of which have been set up by non-Muslims.
“I have been setting up a stall for the past 17 years at Meena Bazaar and every year, we have a very good turnout,” said Mona, who owns a beauty parlor in Gulshan-e-Iqbal. “Eight years back, I started setting up two stalls, one at Meena Bazaar and one at Uzma.” Mona is in her early forties and says she has been a part of the Eid festivities for as long as she can remember.
Rita, a very old employee of Mona’s parlor, said the unique selling point of their stalls were simple things such as elastic and safety pins that people usually put off till the last minute and then end up forgetting about. “Although a few dozen girls are always looking for the perfect shade of nail polish to go with their Eid clothes, the fact is that these make-up products don’t sell as well as other small accessories,” she said.
Girls at another henna stall said that business was not all that well but they were expecting it to pick up by the 27th of Ramadan. “That’s when most families start focusing on Eid shopping and can’t wait around for cheaper stalls,” said Jagdish, who by profession is a dog trainer but sets up a stall for his wife and sisters who work for beauty parlors. “For the lower class, this is not just a money-making scheme but a necessity to provide for our families in these times of high inflation.”
Prices of everything from food to clothes sky rocket during Ramadan. So is it really unfair to pay 100 rupees for henna on a one palm and 200 to 500 rupees for the perfect matching bangles?
Many shoppers felt that it was unfair that such unreasonable prices were charged for small luxuries around Eid. “It is true that our prices are not very reasonable but it has always been so. This just shows that the general public does not learn and keeps putting off shopping till the last minute which is a good time for shopkeepers to make some extra money,” points out Jagdish.
court marriages in khi city courts
this article was picked up by some gulf newspaper and circulated and came back to the karachi metbloggs site. somebody should really do something about authors getting credit when a story gets picked up by the international media.
Up to 800 court weddings take place each day
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: A rough average of 500 to 800 court marriages are taking place on a daily basis, shows a cursory survey of the city courts and surrounding law firms.
“The reason for this is obviously our social and cultural values which are misinterpreted as religious values,” said advocate Raheel during ongoing marriage proceedings. It is an easy process and according to the Constitution there is no law stating parental consent is needed once the parties are of age; i.e. 18 years and above.
Court marriages are mostly an option for schoolgirls and young boys suffering from family pressure. “We often get well-educated people who appear to belong to good families,” Advocate Babar said. “They take this way out for three reasons: a couple can’t convince the parents they are sincere about getting married, a man wants to marry for a second time and a third reason is financial problems.”
In addition to this, sometimes a typical “filmi drama” plays out in the court if the girl belongs to a poor family and the boy goes against his parent’s will, or vice versa. There is also the possibility that either party is marrying for money, or they also opt for court marriages if social norms do not agree with the situation that the young people find themselves in.
A couple getting married in court at the time refused to comment for reasons of anonymity. “This is a confidential matter. The consequences arising from the marriage are personal, not legal,” they said.
General consensus among the lawyers who spoke to Daily Times was that at least 75 percent of these marriages get annulled later, since most of them are not consummated. The parties come in with all the required documentation and witnesses. In a majority of the cases, they sign the contract and go back to their respective homes instead of actually running away from home and living together.
Court marriages are mostly an option for upper- and lower-middle classes people. We seldom get high society clients or lower class clients, some lawyers said. They blamed social pressures for this. The general assumption about people who got their nikkahs annulled was that they were married off to someone chosen by their parents.
Another common form of court marriage takes place when a man married without the knowledge or permission of his existing wife. Such cases are said to be quite frequent. The law requires, however, for the husband to acquire the consent of his first wife before he opts for a second marriage. Earlier, however, nikkahs performed without the consent of the first wife was said to be void, but reformed high court rulings now accept the marriage contract while awarding damages for not having an authority letter signed by the first wife.
People generally elope in order to escape from the custom of arranged marriages. “The basic principle behind a marriage contract is for it to be binding forever and with the availability of leverage such as divorce, it is a shame that parents would disregard their children’s decisions,” advocate Raheel said. “Parents want what is best for their children but they forget that in the advanced age today, there are opportunities for interaction between the two sexes and a certain know-how of how the world works. It is therefore best to not impose decisions on young people.”
Court marriage at a glance
* The woman has to give a statement of free will to the magistrate to the effect that she is of age and is marrying of her own free will.
* The registrar makes the marriage certificate.
* Both parties sign it along with the witnesses.
* An order of the magistrate is signed, completing the proceedings
The whole matter costs Rs 2,000 at the most.
Advocate Riaz Alam Khan
Up to 800 court weddings take place each day
By Uroos Ahmed
KARACHI: A rough average of 500 to 800 court marriages are taking place on a daily basis, shows a cursory survey of the city courts and surrounding law firms.
“The reason for this is obviously our social and cultural values which are misinterpreted as religious values,” said advocate Raheel during ongoing marriage proceedings. It is an easy process and according to the Constitution there is no law stating parental consent is needed once the parties are of age; i.e. 18 years and above.
Court marriages are mostly an option for schoolgirls and young boys suffering from family pressure. “We often get well-educated people who appear to belong to good families,” Advocate Babar said. “They take this way out for three reasons: a couple can’t convince the parents they are sincere about getting married, a man wants to marry for a second time and a third reason is financial problems.”
In addition to this, sometimes a typical “filmi drama” plays out in the court if the girl belongs to a poor family and the boy goes against his parent’s will, or vice versa. There is also the possibility that either party is marrying for money, or they also opt for court marriages if social norms do not agree with the situation that the young people find themselves in.
A couple getting married in court at the time refused to comment for reasons of anonymity. “This is a confidential matter. The consequences arising from the marriage are personal, not legal,” they said.
General consensus among the lawyers who spoke to Daily Times was that at least 75 percent of these marriages get annulled later, since most of them are not consummated. The parties come in with all the required documentation and witnesses. In a majority of the cases, they sign the contract and go back to their respective homes instead of actually running away from home and living together.
Court marriages are mostly an option for upper- and lower-middle classes people. We seldom get high society clients or lower class clients, some lawyers said. They blamed social pressures for this. The general assumption about people who got their nikkahs annulled was that they were married off to someone chosen by their parents.
Another common form of court marriage takes place when a man married without the knowledge or permission of his existing wife. Such cases are said to be quite frequent. The law requires, however, for the husband to acquire the consent of his first wife before he opts for a second marriage. Earlier, however, nikkahs performed without the consent of the first wife was said to be void, but reformed high court rulings now accept the marriage contract while awarding damages for not having an authority letter signed by the first wife.
People generally elope in order to escape from the custom of arranged marriages. “The basic principle behind a marriage contract is for it to be binding forever and with the availability of leverage such as divorce, it is a shame that parents would disregard their children’s decisions,” advocate Raheel said. “Parents want what is best for their children but they forget that in the advanced age today, there are opportunities for interaction between the two sexes and a certain know-how of how the world works. It is therefore best to not impose decisions on young people.”
Court marriage at a glance
* The woman has to give a statement of free will to the magistrate to the effect that she is of age and is marrying of her own free will.
* The registrar makes the marriage certificate.
* Both parties sign it along with the witnesses.
* An order of the magistrate is signed, completing the proceedings
The whole matter costs Rs 2,000 at the most.
Advocate Riaz Alam Khan
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