Controversy over actual age of Dua Zahra grows in severity

KARACHI: A serious controversy has emerged on determination of the age of Dua Zahra, a teenage girl from Karachi who got married in Punjab against the wishes of her parents.

Four leading radiologists who examined her twice believe that her radiological age on the basis of bone ossification is between 16 and 17 years, closer to 17. But other experts, including the Karachi police surgeon and dental surgeons, believe her actual age is between 15 and 16 years, closer to 15.

“All the three radiologists who were on the special medical board formed by the Sindh Health Department, and some other members as well, are of the opinion that on the basis of ossification and bone strength, Dua’s age is between 16 and 17 years, closer to 17,” Prof Sikandar Rafique Qureshi told The News.

Prof Qureshi heads the Radiology Department at the Lyari General Hospital in Karachi. “Even the chief radiologist of the Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), Dr Saba Jameel, has declared that the girl’s age is between 16 and 17 years, closer to 17”, he pointed out.

Some other board members, especially Karachi Police Surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed, argued that on the basis of the documents produced by Dua’s parents, her physical and dental examinations with help of orthopantomogram (OPG) X-ray, the teenager’s age was calculated as between 15 and 16 years, closer to 15. The bone ossification test is the gold standard for determining a person’s age, and it is also the only legally accepted criterion, according to Prof Qureshi as well as Prof Muhammad Azeemuddin, radiology professor at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) in Karachi.

“Our bones ossify at different ages”, said Prof Azeemuddin. So, the ossification test is used to determine a person’s age and it’s also legally accepted everywhere. The only issue in Pakistan is that all the charts we have from Europe, and we have to determine a person’s age on their basis”.

Replying to a question, he said even those teenagers who appear to be much older than their age, examination of their bones with the help of bone ossification can reveal their actual range of age.

Prof Qureshi was of the firm opinion that no test other than bone ossification can reveal a person’s actual age, saying that on the basis of bone ossification, Dua’s actual age is between 16 and 17 years, closer to 17.

“During the special board’s meeting after the girl’s examination, I clearly told the board’s chairperson, Dr Saba Sohail, who is the principal of the Dow Medical College, that I can’t lie about her age,” said Prof Qureshi.

“According to my opinion and that of other radiologists, Dua’s age is between 16 and 17 years, but unfortunately, the board in its report declared it to be between 15 and 16 years on the basis of other criteria, including physical and dental examinations”.

When asked if the girl’s bones were unusually strengthened and ossified as claimed by some of the members of the special board, Prof Qureshi said it was not scientifically true, adding that she was a normal girl with no abnormal growth in her bone structure.

Another member of the special medical board, Dr Wasim Mirza from the AKUH, confirmed that according to the radiological examination, they had reached the conclusion that Dua’s actual age could be between 16 and 17 years, but carbon dating is the gold standard for determining a person’s actual age. “According to my knowledge, the carbon dating test facility is unavailable in Pakistan. Carbon is present in every part of the body, and measuring carbon-14 levels in human tissue can help forensic scientists determine a person’s age accurately”, he said.

Dr Summaiya claimed that due to an unusual discrepancy in Dua’s bone structure, the radiologists on the special medical board had found the girl’s age to be between 16 and 17 years, saying that due to genetic predisposition, her bones were unusually ossified.

“There are four parameters to determine a person’s age: the person’s relevant documents, his physical examination, his dental examination and bone ossification,” explained the police surgeon.

She clarified that the radiological age in both examinations — the first done by the CHK’s chief radiologist and the second by the special board members — was declared between 16 and 17 years, closer to 17.

However, she explained, when the girl was physically examined by the female board members, her age appeared to be between 14 and 15 years on the basis of her physical development. “And when two senior dental surgeons on the special medical board examined Dua’s dental structure, they were of the unanimous opinion that her age is between 13 and 15 years”, she said.

Speaking about the unusual discrepancy in Dua’s bone structure, Dr Summaiya claimed both the girl’s parents also have broad bones. That can be the reason that her bone ossification is more than usual, which can be due to genetic predisposition.

She said all the board members provided different age ranges — the radiologists 16 to 17 years, the physical examiners 14 to 15 years and the dental examiners 13 to 15 years. So, the board took the mean average and declared Dua’s age to be between 15 and 16 years, closer to 15.