Watta satta or shighar (Urdu: ،شغار،وٹہ سٹہ) is an exchange marriage common in Pakistan and Afghanistan.[1][2]
The custom involves the simultaneous marriage of a brother-sister pair from two households. In some cases, it involves uncle–niece pairs, or cousin pairs.[3] Watta satta is more than just an exchange of women from two families or clans; it establishes the shadow of mutual threat across the marriages. A husband who abuses his wife in this arrangement can expect his brother-in-law to retaliate in kind against his sister. Watta satta is cited as a cause of both low domestic violence in some families, and conversely for extreme levels of reciprocal domestic violence in others.[1][4]
In Pakistan it is typically endogamous, with over 75% marriages involving blood relatives, and 90% of these marriages occurring within the same village, tribe or clan (zaat, biraderi).[5][6] In rural parts of Pakistan, watta satta accounts for over 30% of all marriages.[5][7]