{
  "id": 14198883,
  "title": "Violence in response to a woman's refusal to marry 'profound shame' on society's conscience: Supreme Court",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/violence-in-response-to-a-womans-refusal-to-marry-profound-shame-on",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-13T12:48:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn - Pakistan",
    "slug": "dawn-pakistan",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2036890/violence-in-response-to-a-womans-refusal-to-marry-profound-shame-on-societys-conscience-supreme-court"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Supreme Court has expressed deep regret over the violence that stems from a man's inability to obtain a woman's consent to marriage, stating that it is a shame on any civilized society. In a nine-page judgment, Justice Muhammad Hashim Khan Kakar highlighted that the sole motive behind such violence is the man's wounded ego, as he failed to secure the woman's hand in marriage. The court dismissed a criminal review petition by Muhammad Kamran, who received a death sentence for murdering a woman after she and her family rejected his marriage proposal. The court emphasized that marriage is a mutual and voluntary agreement necessitating the free consent of both parties, and a woman's refusal should not be met with violence. The court also referred to various customs, such as ghag, suara, and watta-satta, which demonstrate the patriarchal mindset that devalues a woman's consent. These customs, the court noted, are criminalized by law and declared as non-bailable offenses. The judgment emphasized that a woman has the fundamental right to freely choose her spouse and enter into marriage only with her consent, in line with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).",
  "summary": "ISLAMABAD: Criticising patriarchal customs and gender-based violence, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said it was a profound shame on the conscience of any civilised society when a man, having failed to win a woman’s affection, answered her refusal with violence rather than acceptance. “The sole reason he takes her life is to appease his wounded ego, as he was unable to secure her hand and marry…",
  "key_points": [
    "Supreme Court expresses regret over violence due to refusal of marriage consent",
    "Court emphasizes marriage as mutual, voluntary agreement requiring free consent",
    "Customs like ghag, suara, and watta-satta criminalized for violating women's consent"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Dawn",
        "title": "Violence in response to a woman's refusal to marry 'profound shame' on society's conscience: Supreme Court",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/violence-in-response-to-a-womans-refusal-to-marry-profound-shame-on-14200961",
        "published": "2026-10-13T12:55:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "BBC News",
        "title": "Supreme Court hears church warden murder appeal",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/supreme-court-hears-church-warden-murder-appeal",
        "published": "2026-10-13T13:04:11.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Hill",
        "title": "Supreme Court to hear DOGE’s bid to avoid turning over internal documents",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/supreme-court-to-hear-doges-bid-to-avoid-turning-over-internal",
        "published": "2026-10-13T13:34:52.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CBS News",
        "title": "Supreme Court takes up dispute over access to DOGE records",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/supreme-court-takes-up-dispute-over-access-to-doge-records",
        "published": "2026-10-13T14:02:51.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "Senior Delhi Police officer to explain: Supreme Court on women journalists heckled, detained",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/senior-delhi-police-officer-to-explain-supreme-court-on-women",
        "published": "2026-10-13T14:41:52.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}