As a Pakistani I am very proud of many things from my country, but honor killings of women make me feel ashamed.  I have never seen disrespect of women in my family but when I grew up, I heard and read about honor killings on television and in the papers.  I would also like to make it clear that honor killings are not a part of every family in Pakistan, but where it happens it gives a bad reputation to the whole nation. 

It has nothing to do with Islam because there is no honor or concept of destroying innocent lives in Islam or any other religion.  I can’t say where it came from, but it is common everywhere to take out anger on the weak and I believe that it has a strong connection to poverty and ignorance. I will be discussing the following related topics:

• Introduction
• Background
• Possible Reasons
• NGOs(Non Governmental Organizations) Role
• Conclusion
• Related Links

Note:  Since this topic is very delicate and sensitive, the available pictures are very graphic; I am not including too many pictures.  You can only see pictures on the image rollover.  Honor victims pictures are courtesy of ansarberney.org.

Introduction:

Killing women in the name of honor has been a part of this region for a long time, especially in the rural areas. Honor killing is defined as: the killing of a woman by the hands of her immediate male family member, either with evidence or just on a suspicion that she somehow dishonored the family by her immoral behavior. Immoral behavior is explained as refusing to accept an arranged marriage, marital unfaithfulness, asking for a divorce, getting phone calls from men, failing to serve a meal on time, or allowing herself to be raped.

In general, it is against the tradition for a woman to disagree with her family, or make her own decision, because she is considered a property of her male family members in most areas. Very few people paid attention to this major issue until NGOs raised their voices for the victims of honor crimes. Even then, no political party showed serious interest in resolving this issue until April 2000, when Pakistan’s current President Parvaiz Musharraf, announced that his government would take strong actions to control honor killings. “Such acts do not find a place in our religion or law. Killing in the name of honor is murder, and it will be treated as such.” Most observers were skeptical, however, that Musharraf’s words would be followed up by committed actions. (Sydney Morning Herald)

Background:

The unfortunate and heartbreaking fact is that honor killings are occurring in the Muslim countries also.  Islam is the religion of peace, but it seems like Muslims are acting against their own religion.  In any religion, there is no honor in killing the innocent, according to Stephanie Nebehay:

“Such killings have been reported in Bangladesh, Britain, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Pakistan, Morocco, Sweden, Turkey and Uganda.”  Afghanistan, where the practice is condoned under the rule of the fundamentalist Taliban movement, can be added to the list, along with Iraq and Iran.”  (Nebehay)

It is not easy to keep a record of these killings because many times families cover them up as suicide attempts.  There are not enough funds available to conduct thorough studies, monitor the accurate causes, and work on proper solutions.  All we can do is to trace the root causes that lead to the honor killings and try to work on their preventions.  Tracing the root causes of honor killings and finding their solutions is a lengthy and long-term process, but it provides a better chance at giving positive results rather than temporary measures.

Possible Reasons:

As I understand there could be a lot of reasons for this horrible tradition. Many studies have been conducted at this topic and there are different theories about honor killings, but most of them agree on some basics, as shown:

NGOs and Pakistan Government’s Role:

NGOs are aware of the major factors that lead to honor killings and are trying to work with local governments and communities to eliminate them. Lack of education is one of the major factors that contribute to honor crimes. Pakistan has limited means and resources as a developing country; education is not easily accessible for everyone, particularly in the rural areas.

For boys who are not interested in education, beatings are a common practice of instructional method as a normal routine. This way they not only lose interest in school but worst they learn the use of unnecessary force with the weaker beings. On the other hand, when women are not properly educated, they do not feel confident to stand up for their rights. They do not have a choice, but to take the emotional and physical abuse by their male family members. This vicious cycle is creating social, economical, and emotional problems in the Pakistani society.

According to Ameera Javeria, “Economic dependence often results in ignorance of women’s own well being.” Women’s awareness of their rights has increased thanks to the work of Pakistani women’s rights groups and international organizations, but most women are still ignorant of even their basic rights. According to a newspaper survey in 2000, almost 90% of Pakistani women did not realize that they had any rights at all. NGOs, women’s rights organizations, and other international organizations are working day and night to raise awareness against domestic violence and honor killings. Considering the links between the factors responsible for the domestic violence and eventually killings, NGOs need cooperation from everyone starting with the Pakistan Government, through to local governments, law enforcement, and the general public.

Conclusion:

Related Links: