"I can no longer face society, Major Sahib and it wasn't my Banno's fault", the old man cried and directed his eyes to a young man whose face was adorned with bruises, he looked elsewhere unable to bear the intensity as the father cursed him, "This man had taken advantage of her innocence, he manipulated her to run away. Otherwise, you know what kind of girl my daughter is, she had grown up under the village's guidance, in fact, more than me she considers you her father", The old man joined his hands and pleaded with his eyes to the other man whose presence demanded attention. His fingers adorned with rings, his beard reaching his neck and his eyes holding an intensity as he glared at the mass.

The mass shivered, they were here to listen to the final judgement, after the major's final decision nobody could protest, it was above the law. From his posture and actions, it seemed he was displeased.

A police spoke up in support pushing the blame to the young man, "What kind of man are you? Don't you have any self-respect or sense of guilt for manipulating young girls?" The young man bowed his head in shame as the villagers started whispering.

Bano closed her eyes and shook her head, her brown eyes accusing, " Don't blame him, I was the one who wanted to escape, and for this, I blame you, Major Sahib because of you I ran away"

The policeman interrupted, "How dare you! You were the one with such a weak character and now you are pushing the blame on our Major", Jahangir stood up and motioned her to continue.

"My father didn't want me to marry, so when you gave me the job offer he thought he could use me as his bank, Major Sahib I am forty years old. Tell me who would marry me now? And that's when I met Sohail, my father rejected his proposal and this village is against love marriages, so I had no other choice", the woman shared, her father stood and started denying her accusations.

"Have you gone crazy? What rubbish are you spewing? Major Sahib she has gone crazy, please I beg you to end this nikkah, this man is a predator. He had used her", he held his hand and begged.

"Shamsher Khan by calling for this panchayat you have made me realise that you don't care about your daughter's defamation. Her words and accusations hold more weight than yours, but I would have helped her if instead of running away she had approached me", he sighed as the woman started bawling, "You knew the punishment for your actions long ago, Bano Khan and Sohail Yaqub, you both have broken our laws and made fun of our culture. For such an act you need to be stoned"

Bano stood her eyes brimming with tears as she faced the crowd, "I accept the punishment, but before I die, can I say something", Jahangir motioned her to continue.

"From the moment I was born until a week ago, I was living a life dictated by your rules. But last week I tasted freedom, forty years of my life fell short of the happiness I experienced. I am not guilty, just regretful for being a puppet doll in your hands and I curse you to suffer the same pain and carry the guilt my father will hereafter carry", as the tears dropped she dropped to the ground and was persecuted. The winds howled, carrying with them the echoes of a shattered life and the weight of tradition that had crushed her spirit.

___

Preetam Ki Nazron Se Girr Karr

Jeena Hai Kis Kaam

Sanson Ki Mala Pe

Simroon Main Pi Ka Naam

The song played as a young woman bobbed her head to the lyrics, one hand on the steering wheel and the other reaching for her phone to increase the volume. She felt the words in her heart and then she started singing it. Her fingers tapped on the wheel as she stopped on the signal.

Phir Bhi Kyun Lage Tera Naam Leke

Saath Tujhe Kaisi Yaad Aayi Har Pal

Teri Yaadon Mein Gum Rehta Hai Din

Raat Aankhon Mein Dekhoon Tujhe Toh

Pyaar Aaye Tere Bin Suna Suna Lage

She felt the cold wind hit her as she drove in the empty lanes of the forest roads. The greenery and empty roads made her feel like the main character of a novel, she opened her hair letting it fly with the wind getting lost in the moment. Hearing the birds singing their song she smiled, it felt as if she was in a magical music video, any moment she would break out in a dance. The song was very close to her heart, this was the only song she had heard growing up.

Seher had no cell phone, she had never watched a film or even a play. The only thing close to the music she had heard was the Sufi saints singing qawwali as they prayed outside the dargahs every Sunday. Well, she wasn't allowed to go to Dargah either, her father believed women belonged in their homes, and they should pray in the safety of their homes. Seher didn't detest her father, she didn't oppose him, because she had grown up with him. The only thing he didn't fight against was education, so he sent her to London and later the USA.

Seher sometimes had the urge to break the rules, but she never did. Because she knew if she broke one rule here, the tidbit freedom the girls in her village had, that would be snatched away too. People would quote her and snatch away their right to education as well. She was aware of the circumstances, the punishments and rituals that took place in her village, but what could she do, she was just a young woman.

It's not like she had never tried, she had once stood up for cousin sister Zara, but her father didn't even flinch when he threw the first stone. She had fainted and when she woke up Zara was being buried. Her fingers shivered as the trauma came back, Seher maxed the volume and sped the car. She sang loudly, knowing this was a village too, knowing how inappropriate she was being but she didn't care.

There was adrenalin in the air. She lit a cigarette and brought it to her mouth, making different shapes out of it. As she smoked the words flew out of her mouth,

"Oh, they say our women are just wonderfully cultured,
As if culture's the only thing that sets our women apart,
Oh no, our women, they're not interested in money at all,
They're probably just out here living in a fairy tale world.

Oh, our women, they're far too pure to care,
For earthly desires like wealth and millionaire,
They must be sipping tea with angels on a cloud,
While the rest of us mortals chase riches, how profound!"

She couldn't hold back the sarcasm as the poetry flew out of her mouth, she was too in the moment. Her home was just forty kilometres away and the nerves were getting to her. This was the first time in six years she would face her father, the excitement was damped by the fear, the fear of being tied down.

She could have run away, but the consequences scared her, her father's connections were too strong. He wouldn't care if she was his daughter, he would prefer killing her alive than letting her go. His ego, his beliefs and his image were the most important for him.

Seher still hoped her father would melt, he might give in to her wishes, her dreams. Seher wanted to be a lecturer she had gotten a job offer, and right now she was treading on thin ice as she thought of how to convince him. She considered so many possibilities in her mind, in which he could say yes. If she solved an extremely big problem in one of his projects then he might be impressed and maybe let her take the job. Seher didn't enjoy teaching, she just wanted to stay far far away from her father's eyes. Her father if said in simple words was nothing short of a godfather. Except he had never visited the prison.

'National highway-X, Azamgarh 25 kilometers"

Her panic rose as she saw the distance decreasing, a mile ahead her head started aching and a migraine emerged. Seher saw a petrol pump, she sighed heavily and decided to take a break. She picked up her things, some cash, a phone and a gun that she hid in her purse for protection.

Her cigarette was in her back pocket. She knew this would be the last smoking session, after this, she would have to get rid of the smell. Her clothes too were Western, she entered the washroom and looked at her reflection, a laugh broke out filled with pity.

She exited the bathroom and as she was heading to the Nashta centre, she collided with someone. A girl shorter than she ran away, she apologised and ran straight as if she was running for her life. Seher looked ahead and saw a car, she sighed seeing the shawl the woman left as a trail, Seher picked it up and threw it in another direction. She couldn't help the woman directly, but she could clear the trail at least.

Seher went to the tea stall and sat down sipping the chai, the wonderful taste and sweetness mixed with the masala lessened her migraine to an extent.

"Oh my lord, help me", she heard someone scream, this wasn't the type when they fell, or the tea fell on them. This was the scream that had terror in it, the person who screamed could see their death approaching them, they knew they would be tortured.

The girl was caught, she could hear the commotion but Seher didn't look up. People too didn't care as if this was an everyday occurrence, "Bhai please forgive me, please let me go", the woman wailed, she heard some resistance and the sound of a slap ringing.

Seher directed her gaze to the person who was dragging the frail woman, he was rugged, looking like a local thug. His hair was long, as if he was a part of a band. But looking at his clothes he looked more like a member of a gang, and the next second as he removed a gun, her point was proven. Seher could help, but it was of no use, she could only stall them, and get herself killed or the woman.

She felt the tears burn in her eyes as she watched the woman being dragged by her hair, the man was telling her something but it wasn't audible as another group of men entered with a bruised man. He was being thrashed as the girl begged and cried to leave them.

Seher drank the hot tea and stood up lighting up her cigarette to control her trembling hand. She knew the man wouldn't cause a scene here because this was still the safe zone. But in the woman's cry, she could hear her own. She was terrified, scared and helpless, she wasn't brave enough to help them. To stand up against the injustice, and the atrocity they were committing.

As the woman was being dragged away to the village she asked one of the tea stalls, "Will they stone them or shoot?"

The man without looking up answered, "Shoot".

This made her relieved, Seher picked up her bag and went to the small washroom. She changed her clothes and wore the traditional kurta, shalwar and large shawl that covered her head. This was for practice, and like before one more time, someone collided with her. It was the woman again, Seher sighed as the woman held her hand crying, begging her to call the police. Seher shook her head as if they would help. The police too were involved with them, the rules and the laws didn't exist beyond the highway. It was a different world, and nobody in the country could ever guess that such a place still existed. The world was unaware because the politicians wanted it this way, the chief minister of the state belonged from their village.

"Baaji for god sake, please help me", she begged wrapping her hands around the waist. Seher was scared as she saw the men charging towards her but she realised she had a gun, the woman was not gonna survive, Seher knew that. So she pulled the woman in a hug, feeling the frustration, the angst and the desperation that she emitted.

"God is watching everything", Seher whispered in her ear, and she heard a gunshot the woman was shot in her arms. She fell, Seher's eyes widened as the trauma was triggered and she burst.

She couldn't control her tongue as she clutched the woman to her chest, "Ayee behen****, why make her suffer? Why didn't you aim for her heart?"

The man looked at her attire and realised she was one of them, he casually replied, blowing the blazing the tip of the gun, "Because her heart already had someone, there was no place for a bullet".

Seher felt the tears bubbling, as she cursed the man, "I wish one day, you too go through this, Kameeney, kuttey, ******* ", her anger blazed as she clutched her heart.

The man approached her and lifted his dead sister, "Be careful, Seher", he warned with a disgusting smirk. She was terrified, disgusted and traumatised again, she looked at her clothes and felt the bile rising in her throat.

She went to her car, and pulling up the window discarded her clothes. The blood was still present on her skin, the smell, tickling her nose she picked up her napkin and dabbed it with some water to clean her body. Before she drove away, she threw her bloody clothes out of the window, thankful that she had another traditional one to change into. The sunset and late at night she reached the village, back to her captivity. Back to her home.

Seher had witnessed a horrifying scene at the roadside tea stall, and as she resumed her journey toward her village, her thoughts were in turmoil. The vivid memory of the woman's desperate pleas and the ruthless thug haunted her. She knew that returning to her village meant confronting her father and the oppressive traditions that had bound her for so long.

Her heart raced with fear and anticipation. She reached for her phone and dialled a number she had memorized but hadn't used in years - the number of her contact in the city who had offered her the lecturer's job."Hello?" a voice answered on the other end. Seher hesitated for a moment, her fingers trembling. She knew that making this call would signify a point of no return. With a deep breath, she spoke, "I need your help. I can't go back to that village without something to ensure my safety."

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Seher neared her village, a knot of anxiety and determination tightening in her chest. She adjusted her scarf and drove in covering her face, as the lights of the village shone on her, as she reached the large haveli, her nerves were back again.

Seher was scared of her father, she wanted to run off than face him. But she had no choice, she entered the house, and walked to a familiar room knocking on the door thrice.

"Abba?" She called hesitantly, she wished he had fallen asleep but to her bad luck, he was awake.

As she entered the room, she saw him sitting on his throne seat, against the window. "So you are back", he stated stiffly, she nodded her eyes meeting his. Her father was gazing at her, his eyes lighting, she knew he was happy to see her but he wouldn't say this.

"Yes Abba", she replied and sat down in front of him, her eyes going to different trophies he won.

"Congratulations, now you can get married", he said with a smile, happiness radiating from his face as he hugged her. She couldn't say a word against this, she couldn't stand up against him. She had done that once, and she knew this time she wouldn't survive.

Her trembling fingers stayed awkward as he kissed her forehead and looked outside, "It's late, you must be tired. Go and sleep", Seher took that as her queue and ran away from that room. As she reached her room, she broke down once again. Her hand trembled and she wished she had a cigerrate.