Vani (custom)

Vani (Urdu: ونی), or Swara (سوارہ), is a custom where girls, often minors, are given in marriage or servitude to an aggrieved family as compensation to end disputes, often murder. Vani is a form of arranged or forced child marriage, and the result of punishment decided by a council of tribal elders named jirga. Some claim Vani can be avoided if the clan of the girl agrees to pay money, called Deet (دیت). Vani is sometimes spelled as Wani or Wanni. It is a Punjabi word derived from vanay which means blood. It is also known as Sak and Sangchatti (سنگ چتی) in different regional languages of Pakistan.

Though laws in 2005 and 2011 have declared the practice illegal, the custom still continues to be practiced. In 2004, the Sindh High Court outlawed all such "parallel justice" systems. But the writ of government is weak in rural areas, and local police often turn a blind eye.