The Nexus between Female Child Trafficking and Pakhtun Culture in Peshawar

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the factors and forms of female child trafficking in Pakhtun society from the perspective of opinion of leaders and experts. It enlists some of the cultural factors and forms of marriages, which provide critical space for the practice of trafficking even though it goes unnoticed in Pakhtun society. For this purpose, data were collected from 392 respondents, consisting of 116 university teachers, 103 journalists and 173 legal practitioners from Peshawar. Data were collected through a questionnaire. Cronbach’s Alpha test was used to know about the reliability of the tool which was 0.7. Analyses were carried out with the help of suitable statistical tests of Chi square, and gamma. Simple frequency distribution, bi and multivariate level of analyses were carried out. The study found that all the study indicators of Pakhtun culture are responsible for providing breeding ground for female child trafficking. Bride price, excessive dowry compensation marriage (locally known as Swara marriage), and forced marriage are the main factors and forms responsible for female child trafficking in the study area. Results at bivariate and multivariate confirm each other where gender has no critical role in the resulted association between the two variables.