Vani (custom)

Vani (Urdu: ونی‎) is a cultural custom found in parts of Pakistan wherein young girls are forcibly married as part of punishment for a crime committed by her male relatives.Vani is a form of arranged child marriage, and the result of punishment decided by a council of tribal elders named jirga.

The custom became illegal in Pakistan in 2005 or 2011 at the latest; however, the practice continues. Recently the courts in Pakistan have begun taking serious note and action against the continuation of the practice.

Vani is sometimes spelled as Wani or Wanni. It is a Pashto word derived from vanay which means blood. Vani is also known as Sak, Swara (سوارہ) and Sangchatti (سنگ چتی) in different regional languages of Pakistan. Some claim Vani can be avoided if the clan of the girl agrees to pay money, called Deet (دیت).

Rationale

Hashmi and Koukab claim this custom started almost 400 years ago when two northwestern Pakistani Pashtun tribes fought a bloody war against each other. During the war, hundreds were murdered. The Nawab, regional ruler, settled the war by calling a Jirga of elders from both sides. The elders decided that the dispute and crime of men be settled by giving their girls as Qisas, a retaliatory punishment.

Vani

Vani (Georgian: ვანი) is a town in Imereti region of western Georgia, at the Sulori river (a tributary of the Rioni river), 41 km southwest from the regional capital Kutaisi. The town with the population of 4,600 (2002 est.) is an administrative center of the Municipality of Vani comprising also 43 neighbouring villages (total area – 557 km²; population – 34,000, 2002 est.).

Systematic archaeological studies (N.Khoshtaria, O.Lortkiphanidze) carried out in the Vani environs since 1947 revealed the remnants of a rich city of the ancient power of Colchis. The name of this ancient settlement is still unknown but four distinct stages of uninterrupted occupation have been identified. The first phase is dated to the 8th to 7th centuries BC. In this period Vani is presumed to have been a major cultic centre. The second phase - end of the 7th and beginning of the 6th to the first half of the 4th century BC - is represented by cultural layers, remains of wooden structures, sacrificial altars cut in the rocky ground, and rich burials. It is assumed that on this stage Vani was the centre of a political-administrative unit of the kingdom of Colchis. The third phase covers the second half of the 4th to the first half of the 3rd century BC. It is represented largely by rich burials, remains of stone structures. To the fourth phase (3rd to mid-1st centuries BC) belong defensive walls, the so-called small gate, sanctuaries and cultic buildings (temples, altars sacrificial platforms), and the remains of a foundry for casting bronze statues. It is assumed that in the 3rd to 1st centuries BC. Vani was a templar city. According to the archaeological data, the city was destroyed in the mid-1st century BC. Subsequently, Vani declined to a village and was officially granted a status of a town only in 1981.

Vani (disambiguation)

Vani is a town in Georgia.

Vani may also refer to:

Vani (writer)

Vani (Kannada: ವಾಣಿ; 1912 – 1988) was a Kannada writer. She was born in Srirangapatna, near Mysore). Her father B. Narasinga Rao was an advocate in Srirangapatna. He was bestowed with “Rajaseva Saktha” title by Nalvadi Krishna Raja Wodeyer of Mysore Palace. Three of her novels — Shubhamangala, Eradu Kanasu and Hosabelaku — became famous Kannada movies.

Personal life

Vani studied until SSLC, which was then unusual for a girl. Her passion for writing started at a very young age. She was married at the age of ten to M.N Nanjundaiah, an advocate by profession. Other literary contributors from her family include Triveni (Anasuya Shankar), BM Sri (B. M. Srikantaiah) and Aryambha Pattabhi.

Contribution to Kannada literature

In 1944, Kasturi, Vani's first story collection was released. From then onwards she contributed 33 books to Kannada literature.

Novels