Mailsi: Bodies of 4 sisters who drowned themselves recovered

MAILSI: The dead bodies of four unfortunate sisters, who committed mass suicide because their father could not afford dowries for them to get married, have been recovered from the canal they jumped into here on Friday, Geo News reported Saturday.

According to details, five women with ages ranging from 20 to 45 years threw themselves into a nearby canal after arguing with their father in Mailsi, a town in the rural southern part of Punjab province.

One of the five sisters was pulled alive from the water.

"A poor farmer, Bashir Ahmed Rajput, could not marry his five daughters because he had no money to offer dowry," Malik Daud Hasnain, a senior police official said.

"After an argument on the issue on Thursday, his daughters became desperate and jumped together into a water canal."

The youngest sister was rescued in time whereas dead bodies of four others have been recovered.

Dowry for weddings is a serious issue for poor families in the subcontinent and many women are unable to marry because their relatives cannot afford the gifts and money demanded by grooms' families.

In Pakistan, the usual age for a woman to get married is between 18 and 28 and anyone older faces difficulties finding a match.