The most horrible and despicable form of gender violence or toxic misogyny is rampant in Pakistan that is when a woman dares to sele t her life partner and enter into a bond of marriage or dares to love the man of her choice she is condemned to death by elders of her tribe and even her own family.
The most recent and gruesome spectacle of the so called honor killings was observed in the Jaffarabad district of Baluchistan when a young girl was shot down in the presence of several men. A dozen men have been taken into custody including a tribal elder who ordered the shooting and a terrorism case has been registered against them. This latest case of honor killing has now been transferred to the serious crimes investigation wing after the video of the gruesome tragedy went viral and the Chief Minister Baluchistan took notice. The Quetta judicial magistrate ordered the body of the girl to be exhumed for a post mortem.
During the same time two men in Attock went on the rampage to restore family “Honor” when another woman was gunned down by her father and husband over doubts about her “Character” and in Dir another young couple suffered the same fate who were suspected of having illicit relations by their family elders. The scourge of the so called honor killings is nothing new in Pakistan According to a report of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan from January to November 2004 346 people were killed in Pakistan for the “Honor” of the families Experts also say that Pakistan's patriarchal society tends to condone "honor killings." In 2014, US-based Pew Research Center conducted a survey and concluded that four out of 10 people in Pakistan justified "honor killings" in some way. The government needs to strengthen laws to protect women and also make sure these laws are implemented. On the other hand, civil society needs to create awareness about the issue. Pakistan has a long gruesome and shameful history of slaughter of women in the name of honor and tradition and religious injunctions. Farzana Parveen was mercilessly stoned to death by her family in 2014 when she was three months pregnant the police were silent spectators and the courts of law did nothing to protect her. Our country’s renowned online personality Qandeel Baloch was murdered by her own brother in 2016 for honor. The brother was convicted by the court but later released in 2022 after he was pardoned by the Parents Samia Shahid, a British-Pakistani woman raped and murdered by her ex-husband in 2016. She had married without her family’s approval. Her father and ex-husband were arrested.
The case is still pending in the courts. In the Kohistan case of 2012 a tribal Jirga ordered the death of three girls who were guilty of clapping and dancing at a wedding. The culprits were convicted and then judgment reversed setting them free. In the words of Bacha Khan “If you wished to know how civilized a culture is, look at how they treat its women”.
Today, that remains the ultimate indictment of the systems that enable and excuse honor killings. nation cannot call itself civilized when it allows its daughters to be hunted for choosin freedom. Qisas and diyat laws have become a powerful means for the offenders to commit ‘honor’ killings and then go scot-free. These laws allow the victim or his/her family to retain control over the treatment of the trial of murder. The process of incorporating qisas and diyat provisions in the PPC commenced in 1990, owing to the decision of the court in Federation of Pakistan v Gul Hassan and others, 14 in which sections 299 to 338 of the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 (‘PPC’) which relate to offenses against the human body, and section 345 of Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 (‘Cr.P.C’) were held to be repugnant to Islamic injunctions for various reasons. Ironically man women seeking help or justice in our society are refused any help by the law enforcing agencies who have their sympathies with the perpetrators or turn a blind eye treating such cases as private family matters. Surprisingly many a times the Judiciary too appears to be complicit in one such case a judge of the Lahore high court stated openly that murders committed in the name of honor are not intentional and therefore should be treated leniently so the police and judiciary are part of the same civil society that believe in and sanction such heinous crimes effective intervention by the seems like a pipe dream. Jirga and panchayats in the tribal areas of Pakistan play a major role in society but they have no legal status and their legal status is not even challenged or questioned but they quite often dispense justice such as murder and in spite of their lack of legal authority they continue to wield immense power and judicial authority.
The despicable idea that murder can be honorable comes from ancient tribal customs where any allegation against a woman can be enough to defile or defame a family’s name and reputation based on the idea that a life without honor is not worth living. Believers in the henious crime of honor killings justify their actions on religious grounds when ironically our religion does not condone or sanction honor related murder.
In certain cases tribal customs have been codified into law leading to legal grounds for killing a woman accused of infidelity or a marriage of her choice against the wishes of her family. Most honor killings are extremely difficult to prove or prosecute. In most cases there are no witnesses and a total lack of motivation within the community for the police to pursue the suspects. In Pakistan conviction rates are abysmally low because of the blood money laws that allow the family to forgive the killers and they walk free and even those convicted receive very light sentences.
—The writer is Professor of History, based in Islamabad.
