One of the side effects of reading lots of feminist news is the near-daily discovery of information that will make you temporarily miserable. Today, it’s “Ghagh”:
Gul Ghotai has bitter memories of the day her suitor proposed marriage. The reason? This was no ordinary proposal but one made under an ancient Pashtun custom called “ghagh” that entitles a man to force his marriage proposal on a woman.
Once invoked, ghagh—which means “a call”—can have various outcomes, none of them happy for the woman. She might end up being married against her will, or stay single for life, or see her family drawn into a dangerous, lingering feud.