Honour killings in Pakistan alarmingly high
BY SHOAIB HABIB MEMON
According to the Human Rights Watch, honour killings are
defined as reacts of vengeance, usually death, committed by male family members
against female family members, who are held to have brought dishonour upon the
family. A woman can be targeted by (individuals within) her family for a
variety of reasons, including: refusing to enter into an arranged marriage,
being the victim of a sexual assault, seeking a divorce - even from an abusive
husband - or (allegedly) committing adultery. The mere perception that a woman
has behaved in a way that "˜dishonours' her family is sufficient to trigger
an attack on her life.
The tradition of honour killing is locally known as
karo-kari. A Pakistani family living in Belgium is standing on trial for
killing one of their female family members. Refusing to accept an arranged
marriage and living with a Belgian, Sadia Sheikh was shot dead with three
bullets allegedly fired by her brother, Mudusar Sheikh. Being a professor of
womens issues in Pakistan, Tahira Shaid Khan noted that there is nothing
whatsoever that supports the tradition of honour killings. She says the first
and most basic right that every Muslim is supposed to follow is the right to
life:
That if anyone slays a human being - unless it be (in
punishment) for murder or for spreading corruption on earth - it shall be as
though he had slain all mankind; whereas, if anyone saves a life, it shall be
as though he had saved the lives of all mankind holy Quran (5:32).
On a global scale, 5,000 women lost their lives as
victims of honour killings although the real statistics are probably higher.
Although there are no official countrywide statistics for Pakistan honour
killings, it is estimated that the country has lost 1,000 women, or perhaps
more, to honour killings. This is because many law offenders think they can get
away with it, which is highly likely. Are Knudsen, from the Chr Michelsen
Institute in Norway, says the female chastity represents the family symbolic
capital in honour-bound societies. To protect it, he added, the offending woman
must be killed rather than divorced or excommunicated, an act which in itself
is considered shameful. Killing her removes the offensive act, redeems family
honour and resurrects its prestige.
Since there are no official statistics available, the
non-governmental Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) collects
information on honour killings in two of Pakistan's four provinces. Their
research is based on surveys, revolving around cases reported by the media or
registered with the police. Because some cases are not registered with the
police (due to bribing whilst filing an FIR report) and some go unnoticed by
the press, the real figures of honour killings can be much higher than the
current rate.
Also, there are plenty of fake honour killings in order
to cover up other crimes (including homicide) which distort the real number of
honour killings happening each year.
Fadia Faqir, in Interfamily Femicide in Defence of
Honour: The Case of Jordon, says, The use of violence to maintain privilege is
not a neoteric phenomenon, rather it is historically entrenched, and has turned
gradually into "˜the systemic and global destruction of women, with the
institutionalisation of patriarchy over the countries. Despite the 2005
legislation, honour killings are still on the rise in Pakistan and male members
continue to get away with the murders of their female family members. Although
NGOs, human rights groups and women activists have called for the government to
come up with solutions to this issue, the authorities have turned a blind eye.
|