The latest Sindh Police statistics show that ‘honour killing’ or karokari of both women and men has gone up 27 percent if data from the first half of this year and the previous year are compared.
The data is for the first six months of both years, from January to June. The police compared 2020 and 2021.
Last year, the reported karokari number of victims was 65 (in the first six months). In 2021, this figure rose to 83 (in the first six months). The comparison is not for data for the full year.
In karokari cases, men and women are targeted. However, the trend generally shows higher death tolls for women. In the half-yearly comparison between the two years, the women were targeted 31% more.
This data is for the first six months of both years only.What is interesting is that the police also record who is the perpetrator or alleged murderer.
Mothers, daughters and sisters of the victim never commit these murders. The trend is overwhelmingly for men to commit these murders.
There has been a slight change in the trend of which type of man committed the crime. Last year it was overwhelmingly husbands (in 35 murders) but this dropped to 28. Instead, other relatives have replaced husbands.
In the first six months of last year, 19 murders were by other relatives. So far this year, it has risen to 26 murders.The murder weapon of choice tends to be a pistol or revolver.
The other weapons used are Kalashnikovs, shotguns and knives. There is a category called ‘other weapon’ which the police said tends to be a stone. Murder with other weapons nearly doubled.
There have been increased calls from civil society for a crackdown on violence against women, in particular, and rape and sodomy cases and cases in which children are targeted.
The Noor Mukadam murder case has been in the headlines, prompting calls for stricter action and laws against violence.
Meanwhile, the Council of Islamic Ideology has expressed its reservations on a few points of the Pakistan Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill 2021, saying that they are against the injunctions of Islam.
The CII has shown its disagreement over the definition of the word ‘violence’ and says the content pertaining to it is against the basic teachings of Shariah.
