A father is a man that every daughter truly loves because, perhaps, he is the only man who will not hurt her deliberately. But what do you call a father who barters his own daughter for a wife in return? Wazir Ahmed, a Pakistani man gave his 13-year-old daughter Saima’s hand in marriage to Mohammad Ramzan because he wanted to marry his sister in return. Ramzan is deaf and mute, and the match was arranged because his sister, who was in love with Wazir, refused to marry him before her brother was hitched. Saima lied to the authorities during an interrogation and claimed she is 16 to save her father.

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Wazir’s previous wives were not able to bear him a son so he married Ramzan’s sister in the hope of a son. Bartering daughters to resolve disputes is a common practice in Pakistani rural areas and this even has a dedicated term in Urdu. It’s called ‘Watta Satta’, that is, give and take. Many Muslims are of the belief that Islam allows you to marry their daughters at puberty.

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It is a sad tale of orthodox beliefs, selfish interests and sacrificing innocent lives for self pleasures. Since when did a wish for a son become so carnal that you do sacrilegious acts in the name of religion?