Rahman baba

Rahman baba – A philosopher and Pashto Poet

At the dawn of seventeenth century, when Afghans were in fog of war, from West by Persians and East by Mughals, a kid by the name of Abdur Rehman was born in a town close to Peshawar called Bahader Kalay. He belonged to Mohmand clan of the Pathans. The specific date of his birth and deaths are not known, yet it is widely believed that Rahman Baba lived during Mughal King Aurangzeb era (AD. 1659 – 1707). Rahman Baba lived a tranquil life and never remained a part of innate clashes of his days. It is believed that he was the child of a town chief (Malik) named Abdul Sattar. Rahman Baba had a brother whose name was Aziz Khan. As per some historians, Rahman Baba belonged to a poor family and was a son of local village molvi. Regardless of whether Malik or not, Rahman Baba depicts himself as a helpless faqir:

May no one be without life and livelihood;
As I am lifeless and penniless

Rahman Baba received his initial education from his home town. He studied “Fiqah and Tassawwuf” from Mullah Muhammad Yousaf Yousafzai. After his initial education, he went to Kohat for further studies. In Kohat he remained under Haji Bahadur, a notable Mystic and researcher of the Sub-Continent.

Rehman baba was an ascetic but various unfounded theory have been made about who Rehman’s guide may have been and to which Sufi order he was attached. Sabir suggests that Rehman had a naqsh bandi tariqa initiation in Kohat as well as training from the sons of peer baba. While Schimmel and Saad Ahmed Bakhsh assign Rehman to the Chishti order. Some people claims that Rehman baba was a pure Hanafi. However, there are no established theories available about his initial brought up and education.

Abdur Rahman Baba, the best proponent of Pashto literature, was a man of character and extraordinary allure. At a youthful age, he began contemplating and understanding verses, particularly Persian. As he developed more and established himself as a poet, he was drawn towards the love of Allah. He started questioning the reason of existence and ultimately surrendered himself in entirety to Allah. Rehman Baba work primarily revolves around Sufiism and love for Allah. His work is regarded by many Pashtuns to be far more than poetry and next only to the Quran.

A collection of Rehman’s poetry called The Diwan (Anthology) of Rehman baba, contains 343 poems which are mainly written in his native language Pashto. There are over 25 original hand-written manuscripts of The Diwan scattered in various libraries worldwide including 10 in the Pashto academy in Peshawar, 4 in the British library, 3 in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris as well as copies in the John Rylands library in Manchester, the Bodleian library in Oxford and the University library of Aligath. The first printed version was collected by the Angelican Missionary T.P. Hughes and printed in Lahore in 1877. It is this version which remains the most commonly used and read to this day. The verses of Rahman Baba are brimming with messages. He showed the entire world the genuine importance of life through the adoration and magnificence of Allah.

His work was appreciated far and wide, from Afghanistan to Central Asia to the Indian Subcontinent. National and political pioneers utilized his verses for free development. Because of his prevalence, he was given a title of “Baba” (Father of Nation). His work has inspired an array of new writers who has modelled their poetry on Rehman’s Baba poetry style.

It is widely believed that he died in December 1711 and his tomb is housed in a large domed shrine or mazaar on the southern outskirts of Peshawar (Ring road Hazar khwani). The site is a popular place for poets and mystics to collect and recite his popular poetry. After his death, writers and artists flocks to his gravesite annually. This annual congregation has attained a festive status over the years which has carried on as part of Peshawar’s rich cultural tradition to this day. Every year on 4 April, people from various places of Pakistan and Afghanistan visit Shrine of Rehman Baba to celebrate his Urs Mubarak. During the Urs, notable artist remembers Rehman Baba with poetry. There is also the burial chamber of his dear companion Thawas Gul Baba at his shrine.

Child marriages in Pakistan; a silent challenge

Any formal marriage or informal union where one or both of the parties are under 18 years of age is referred to as child marriage also known as “early marriage” or ‘child brides”. More than half of girls from poor families in the developing world are married as children.

The issue of child marriage is very common throughout the entire world. According to the latest statistics of April 2020, level of child marriage has been found highest in sub-Saharan Africa, where 35% of young women were married before age 18, followed by south Asia, where nearly 30% were married before age 18. The lowest level of child marriage was found in Eastern Europe & Central Asia (12 percent) followed by Middle East and North Africa (17 percent) respectively.

Pakistan is among one of the nation which is facing the child marriage dilemma, almost one third of girls are married before they reach their puberty. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) report regarding demographics of Child Marriage, 21 percent girls under the age of 18 and 3 percent of girls under the age of 15 gets married in Pakistan. Almost 15 percent of child brides give birth to babies before reaching the age of 18. Similarly, UNICEF reported 21% underage marriages across Pakistan.

The situation is even worse in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as women rights commission estimates that 74 percent of girls are married in the age of 18. The major reason of higher child marriage percentage in KP is due to conservative tribal and Pashtun customs, traditions and practices. Some people are of the view that Islamic religion urge them to tie the knot of daughters once they reach puberty. Females are also considered inferior gender to the male and are mostly married without their consent or will, hence, increasing child marriages instance.

Child marriage violates the fundamental human rights of children and leave a long-term adverse effect on child’s life. One of the major consequences of the child marriage is that it badly affects the health of the children. It increases the risk of sexual diseases, cervical cancer, malaria, death during child birth, premature birth of babies etc. Child marriage deny girls a bright future and put their lives in an unending dangerous cycle of oppression and harm.

According to the International Council of Research on Women (ICRW), women with low levels of education and underage marriage are at a higher risk of domestic violence than older and more educated women. According to the research, the girls who marry before reaching the age of 18 are 50 percent more likely to face physical and sexual violence from her partner throughout the entire life.

Psychology reveals that girls who marry under the age of 18 are likely to suffer from trauma and depression and it usually leads to divorce or suicide. For girls who don’t have mature bodies for safe sexual intercourse, unavoidable sexual relation with their husbands can also be traumatic with long term adverse physical and psychological effects.

Child marriage effectively ends a girl childhood, curtails her education, minimizes her economic opportunities, increases her risk of domestic violence and puts her at risk of early, frequent, very high-risk pregnancies.

In Pakistan, there are various causes of early or child marriages. The most common amongst all those reasons are lack of implementation of existing laws, tribal and feudal structure of society, lack of awareness within the public.

The existing laws of child marriages are child marriage restraint Act 1929, recently passed by senate for controlling child marriage. Also, Article-16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that the person must be at full age when married and that marriage should be entered into freely and with full consent.

Though, minimum require laws are present in Pakistan; there is a need to develop a mechanism for its strict implementation at government and judicial level to ensure control on child marriages. Moreover, there is also a need to conduct a massive awareness campaign to educate masses regarding harmful effect of child marriages.

ضم شدہ قبائلی اضلاع میں بڑھتے ہوئے زمینی تنازعات

فاٹا انضمام کے بعد آئین پاکستان کا دائرہ اختیار اُن علاقوں تک پہنچ گیا جہاں پر اب تک برطانیہ کا رائج کالا قانون ایف سی آر لاگوں تھا ۔فاٹا انضمام کے ایک سال گزرنے کے بعد جہاں فاٹا انضمام کے ثمرات یہاں کے لوگوں کو ملنا شروع ہو گئے وہاں فاٹا انضمام کے باعث عوام کے لیے کئی مسائل نے جنم لیا۔ ان میں اکثر مسئلے یہاں کے زمینی تنازعات ہے جو کہ صدیوں سے چلے آرہے ہیں لیکن سابقہ فاٹا میں انکو یہاں پر موجود رسم رواج اور قانون کی مدد سے یا تو دبایا گیا تھا یا پھر انکو حل کیا گیا تھا۔ اس میں اکثر تنازعات ایسے ہیں جن کو طالبان نے طاقت کے ذریعے اور جرگے کا سہارا لیکر حل کر دیاتھا اورفریقین نے نہ چاہتے ہوئے بھی ان پر خاموشی اختیار کر رکھی تھی ۔
حالات معمول پر آنے کے بعد اور فاٹا انضمام کے باعث اکثر زمینی تنازعات دوبارہ پیدا ہونے لگے ہیں۔ ان میں اکثر ایسے تنازعات ہیں جو کہ مقامی بڑے بڑے قبیلوں کے درمیان (برید) یعنی بارڈر پر پیدا ہو رہے ہیں جو آہستہ آہستہ خونی تصادم کی شکل اختیار کرتے چلے جارہے ہیں ۔ مستقبل قریب میں اگر یہ مسائل برقت حل نہ کیے گئے تو یہ بڑے خونی تصادم کی شکل اختیار کر سکتے ہیں۔ شمالی وزیرستان میں وزیر اور داوڑ قوم کے درمیان( برید )، کرم ایجنسی میں اہل تشی اور سنی کے درمیان برید کا تنازعہ ،جنوبی وزیرستان میں وزیر اور محسود قوم کے درمیان برید کا تنازعہ ،جنوبی وزیرستان میں دوتانی اور وزیر قوم کے درمیان برید کا تنازعہ اور جنوبی وزیرستان میں ہی محسود اور بیٹنی قوم کے درمیان برید کا تنازعہ شامل ہے ۔ان تنازعات پر پہلے بھی خونی تصادم ہوچکے ہیں اور یہ تنازعات مستقبل میں اس پٹی میں امن امان کی تباہی کا باعث بن سکتے ہیں۔ ماضی میں یہاں پر موجود قانون ایف سی آر کے ذریعے انتظامیہ ایسے تنازعات کو حل کیا کرتی تھی لیکن اگر یہ کہا جائے کہ ان زمینی تنازعات کے حل کے لیے اب یہاں کوئی قانون موجود نہیں ہے تو یہ کہنا غلط نہ ہوگا۔ پہلے یہاں کے تحصیلدار اور اے سی کے پاس جرگے سمیت دیگر ایسے اختیارات موجود تھے جسکو استعمال میں لاتے ہوئے اس قسم کے تنازعات کے حل کے لیے وہ کردار ادا کر سکتے تھے لیکن فاٹا انضما کے بعد وہ اختیارات اب انکے پاس نہیں رہے البتہ حکومت کی جانب سے جرگہ نظام کو فعال تو کیا گیا لیکن اس نظام کے تحت بھی محدود اختیارات انتظامیہ کو دئیے گیے جسکے تحت ایسے تناعات حل تو نہیں ہوسکتے البتہ اس میں بگاڑ لایا جا سکتا ہیں اگر کوئی جرگہ کسی مسئلے پر کوئی فیصلہ کرتی بھی ہے تو فوری طور پر اسکو عدالت میں چیلنج کر دیا جاتا ہے ۔
دوسری جانب عدالت اور پولیس کے پاس بھی ایسے تنازعات کے حل کے لیے کوئی قانونی راستہ موجود نہیں ہے کیونکہ قبائلی علاقاجات میں تاحال پٹواری نظام موجود نہیں ہے اور ان علاقوں کے زمینوں کا حکومت کے پاس بھی کوئی ٹھوس ریکارڈ بھی موجود نہیں ہے۔ برطانیہ کے دور کا جو ریکارڈ تھا وہ تو شاید موجود ہے لیکن صوبائی حکومت کا دائرہ اختیار ان علاقوں تک بڑھنے کے بعد اب اسکی کوئی خاص حثیت نہیں رہی اگر حثیت ہے تو کوئی تسلیم کرنے کو تیار نہیں ہے جبکہ کئی تنازعات کا ریکارڈ صرف زبانی کلامی ہے۔ انکا کوئی تحریری ریکارڈ میسر نہیں ہے ۔ان تنازعات کے بارے میں مقامی لوگوں کی اکثر رائے یہ ہے کہ یہ تنازعات مخصوص سازش کے تحت پیدا کیئے جارہے ہیں تاکہ قبائلی علاقہ جات کے امن کو بگاڑا جائے۔
اگر حکومت کی جانب سے ان مسائل کے بروقت حل کے لیے اقدامات نہیں اٹھائے گئے تو دہشت گردی کے جنگ کے بعد ان اضلاع میں ان تنازعات کے باعث بننے والی جنگ دوسری خونی جنگ ہوگی جس میں مقامی افراد کے جانوں کے ضیاع کے ساتھ ساتھ حکومت کو یہاں پر دوبارہ امن کا قیام لانا ایک چیلنج ثابت ہوگا۔ اسی لیے حکومت کو چائیے کہ ضم شدہ اضلاع میں پٹوارخانے کے نظام کو فعال بنانے کے لیے ہنگامی بنیادوں پر اقدامات اٹھائے جائے۔ اسکے ساتھ ساتھ جب تک پٹواری نظام یہاں پر مکمل فعال نہیں ہوتا تب تک مقامی سیول انتظامیہ کو ان تنازعات کے حل کے لیے خصوصی اخیارات دئیے جائے تاکہ موجودہ تنازعات کا پر امن حل نکل سکیں ۔