Pakhtunwali Versus Islam: A Comparative Analysis of Women’s Rights in Islam and Their Violation Under Pakhtunwali (Pakhtun Code of Life) in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa Pakistan

Abstract

Pakhtunwali and Islam are ideally treated as one and the same among Pakhtuns living in Afghanistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa (former N-WFP), Baluchistan and rest of the country. Pakhtunwali dominates and integrates the sociocultural, economic, religious and political spheres of Pakhtuns in larger social structure. The current study focuses on comparative analysis of women’s rights from Islamic perspective and their violation under Pakhtunwali (Pakhtun code of life). Particularly, the paper focuses on identification of such rights, which are equally bestowed upon both men and women in Islam but in the dispensation of which, due to cultural traditions, women are looked down upon in Pakhtun society. For making comparative analysis of Pakhtun code and Islamic Sharia, researcher arranged a survey of 4425 households and collected the data through participant observation and in-depth interviews from 775 respondents including male and female of age 25 and above in Chakdara Town, District Dir Lower, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, Pakistan. Besides, relevant literature and Islamic scripts (Qur’an and Hadeeth) have been utilized and comparison has been made between Pakhtoonwali and Islamic Sharia with field data. The study shows that there exists a clear disparity in implementation of Islamic Sharia (Law) and Pakhtunwali throughout Pakhtun belt. Lives of people are governed under traditional system of Pakhtunwali (including Pakhtun code and Riwaj) while Islam as an ideal type religion has no such role in the dispensation of women’s rights in many aspects of life.

Keywords: Pakhtunwali, violation, socio-cultural, implementation, traditions, ideal type