COMMENT | Tharwa was only 22 when she married Rafeeq who was ten years older. She did not consent to the marriage but was forced into it by her family.

Since Tharwa was a soft-spoken, decent-looking young lady, many of her relatives thought her objection to the marriage was due to the fact that Rafeeq was loud and not quite pleasant to look at.

However, Tharwa’s family insisted that he came from a good family and that she would be making a grave mistake if she did not pursue the arranged marriage. Reluctantly, Tharwa agreed.

In the first few weeks of...