HONOR KILLING IN PAKISTAN’

Honor killing, most often, the murder of a woman or girl by

male family members. The killers justify their actions by
claiming that the victim has brought dishonor upon the family
name or prestige. Behind the idea of killing is a “ deeply
rooted belief that the women are objects and commodities,
not human beings entitled dignity and rights equal to those of
men”.( Amnesty International, NGO human rights).
The honor culture has high expectations and responsibility on
how women should live their lives (Abu-Lughod, 2011;
Commission on Human Rights, 2002; Husseini, 2009). But
women as a human beings have all the rights to live according to
her will. These rights are provided by the constitution of the
country.

Pakistan enacted a law that made honour killings punishable by a

prison term of seven years, or by the death penalty in the most
extreme cases. In March 2005, the Pakistani parliament rejected
a bill which sought to strengthen the law against the practice of
honour killing declaring it to be un-Islamic. The bill was eventually
passed in 2006 as the Protection of Women (Criminal Laws
Amendment) Act of 2006, The Punjab Protection of Women
against Violence Act of 2016 was passed to amend Pakistani law
to further protect women. The Criminal Law (Amendment)
(Offences in the name or pretext of Honour) Act of 2016 repealed
the loophole which allowed the perpetrators of honour killings to
avoid punishment by seeking forgiveness for the crime from
another family member, and thus be legally pardoned. Even with
the major improvements by this act, honour killing has continued
in Pakistan. The recent spate in “honor” killings demonstrates that
harsher punishments do not automatically translate into justice for
women. The authorities should ensure that police impartially
investigate “honor” killings without bowing to political or other
pressure from religious and local leaders, including jirgas. The
government should also ensure women and girls have access to
safe emergency shelter and other services, especially protection,
when they report risks from their family. The Pakistani
government should act quickly and decisively to ensure that no
interpretation of religious or cultural norms prevails over basic
rights.