Baad is a method of settlement and compensation whereby a female from a criminal's family is given to the victim's family as a servant or a bride. [1] It is still practiced in certain areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan, mainly among the Kochis. [2] Although baad is illegal under Afghan law, many of the victims do not know their rights, and still more are prevented from exercising them. [3]
After a person commits a serious crime, a council of elders called jirga decides the punishment. The punishment for a smaller crime is a fine in the form of money or livestock. Standard penalty for a crime such as murder is for the offender's family to give a woman or girl to the victim's family. [1] In theory, the woman or girl is given in forced marriage to a male in the victim's family. Baad sometimes leads to domestic violence. [3]
The practice of baad has no Islamic basis, but is instead considered un-Islamic and is illegal. [3] As per the Hadith, "A non-virgin woman may not be married without her command, and a virgin may not be married without her permission; and it is permission enough for her to remain silent (because of her natural shyness)." [Al-Bukhari:6455, Muslim & Others]. [4]
Baad is a criminal offense under Article 517 of the 1976 Afghan Penal Code, but the Article applies only if a widow and woman above age 18 is given under Baad. According to Afghan law, the sentence for perpetrators of baad (i.e., forcing a woman into marriage and slavery through baad) cannot exceed two years of prison. No jirga elder or family is known to have been arrested or tried for taking or giving a woman or girl in baad. The practice of baad is mostly reported in Afghanistan's provinces of Kunar, Helmand and Balkh. [3] [1]