The Price of Honor
By Sana Chaudhry
7 April 2016
The month of April began with extremely troubling news. A young bride was allegedly murdered by her husband for not being a virgin. The news started making headlines after a picture of the deceased started making the rounds on social media. However, this is the latest in a long series of crimes against women, taking place in the name of honor.Honor killing is defined as the killing of a relative, especially a girl or woman, who is thought to have brought dishonor on the family. The very word ‘honor killing’ is problematic because it shifts the blame from the perpetrator, to the victim, justifying his actions in the process. One of the biggest obstacles in tackling this issue is the lack of data present. Nevertheless, statistics published by the HRCP, showed that 1,245 incidents of honor killings had been reported from 2014 to 2015.
As for the laws pertaining to honor killings, they serve their purpose only on paper. In 2004 due to the efforts of various women’s rights organizations and activists, amendments were made to the Pakistan Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure to define honor killings as murder with penal punishments. However, the law falls short in addressing victim protection and ensuring prosecution of the perpetrators. In her pilot study ‘Honor Killings in Pakistan and Compliance of Law’, Maliha Zia Lari, a lawyer and researcher of human rights, states that “Ignorance exists within the fundamental players of the justice sector, including police, lawyers and even judges”.
But the recent passing of the women’s protection bill has ignited a flame of hope. With women’s rights making headlines, especially with Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy’s documentary at the forefront, one can hope that this time a drastic change is seen. A hundred bills can be passed, but they will have no impact unless they are implemented correctly.
