Honor Killings

Honor Killings, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An honor killing or honour killing[1] (also called a customary killing) is the killing of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief of the perpetrators (and potentially the wider community) that the victim has brought dishonour upon the family or community. Honour killings are directed mostly against women and girls.

The perceived dishonor is normally the result of one of the following behaviors, or the suspicion of such behaviors: (a) dressing in a manner unacceptable to the family or community, (b) wanting to terminate or prevent an arranged marriage or desiring to marry by own choice, (c) engaging in heterosexual sexual acts outside marriage, or even due to a non-sexual relationship perceived as inappropriate, and (d) engaging in homosexual acts. Women and girls are killed at a much higher rate than men.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that perhaps as many as 5,000 women and girls a year are killed by members of their own families.[2] Many women's groups in the Middle East and Southwest Asia suspect the victims are at least four times more.[3]


Pakistan

In Pakistan honor killings are known locally as karo-kari. An Amnesty International report noted "the failure of the authorities to prevent these killings by investigating and punishing the perpetrators."[42] Recent cases include that of three teenage girls who were buried alive after refusing arranged marriages.[43] Another case was that of Taslim Khatoon Solangi, 17, of Hajna Shah village in Khairpur district, which was widely reported after her father, 57-year-old Gul Sher Solangi, publicized the case. He alleged his eight months’ pregnant daughter was tortured and killed on March 7 on the orders of her father-in-law, who accused her of carrying a child conceived out of wedlock.[44][45] Statistically, honor killings have a high level of support in Pakistan's rural society, despite widespread condemnation from human rights groups.[46] In 2002 alone over 382 people, about 245 women and 137 men, became victims of honor killings in the Sindh province of Pakistan.[47] Over the course of six years, more than 4,000 women have died as victims of honour killings in Pakistan from 1999 to 2004.[48] In 2005 the average annual number of honor killings for the whole nation was stated to be more than 10,000 per year. [49] According to women's rights advocates, the concepts of women as property, and of honor, are so deeply entrenched in the social, political and economic fabric of Pakistan that the government mostly ignores the regular occurrences of women being killed and maimed by their families." [50] Frequently, women killed in "honour" killings are recorded as having committed suicide or died in accidents.[50]

A conference held in May 2005 in Islamabad, Pakistan addressed whether Pakistani law, governments and international agencies were having any success in reducing honor killings in the country.[51] They found that more cases of honor killing are being reported rather than hidden, and more women are having the courage to come forward. But, they found there was a severe lack of proper implementation of laws and assurances that men who commit honor killings are not given lighter sentences. The conference found fault with Pakistan's Zina laws that put women in an unfair disadvantage and inferior position, often at the mercy of men to prove their innocence.

It is noted by sociologists that honour killings do not necessarily have to do with religion, but rather the cultures in different regions.[52] Savitri Goonesekere qualifies this claim, saying that Islamic leaders in Pakistan use religious justifications for sanctioning honor killings.[53]
India

Honour killings have been reported in northern regions of India, mainly in the Indian states of Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Bihar, as a result of people marrying without their family's acceptance, and sometimes for marrying outside their caste or religion. In contrast, honour killings are rare to non-existent in South India and the western Indian states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. In some other parts of India, notably West Bengal, honor killings ceased about a century ago, largely due to the activism and influence of reformists such as Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, Vidyasagar and Raja Ram Mohan Roy.[54]

Among Rajputs, marriages with members of other castes can provoke the killing of the married couple and immediate family members. This form of honour killing is attributed[who?] to Rajput culture and traditional views on the perceived "purity" of a lineage.

The Indian state of Punjab is notorious for honour killings. According to data compiled by the Punjab Police, 34 honour killings were reported in the state between 2008 and 2010: 10 in 2008, 20 in 2009, and four in 2010 .[55]

Haryana also is known for incidents of honour killing.[16][56] Bhagalpur in the northern Indian state of Bihar has also been notorious for honour killings.[57] Recent cases include a 16-year-old girl, Imrana, from Bhojpur who was set on fire inside her house in a case of what the police called ‘moral vigilantism’. The victim had screamed for help for about 20 minutes before neighbours arrived, only to find her still smoldering. She was admitted to a local hospital, where she later died from her injuries.[58] In May 2008, Jayvirsingh Bhadodiya shot his daughter Vandana Bhadodiya and struck her on the head with an axe.[59] In June 2010 some incidents were reported even from Delhi.

In a landmark judgment in March 2010, Karnal district court ordered the execution of the five perpetrators of an honour killing, and imprisoning for life the khap (local caste-based council) head who ordered the killings of Manoj Banwala (23) and Babli (19), a man and woman of the same clan who eloped and married in June 2007. Despite having been given police protection on court orders, they were kidnapped; their mutilated bodies were found a week later in an irrigation canal.[60][61][62]

In 1990 the National Commission for Women set up a statutory body in order to address the issues of honor killings among some ethnic groups in North India. This body reviewed constitutional, legal and other provisions as well as challenges women face. The NCW's activism has contributed significantly towards the reduction of honor killings in rural areas of North India.[63] According to Pakistani activists Hina Jilani and Eman M. Ahmed, Indian women are considerably better protected against honor killings by Indian law and government than Pakistani women, and they have suggested that governments of countries affected by honor killings use Indian law as a model in order to prevent honor killings in their respective societies.[53]

In June 2010, scrutinizing the increasing number of honour killings, the Supreme Court of India issued notices to the Central Government and six states including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan to take preventive measures against the social evil.[64]

Alarmed by the rise of honour killings, the Government planned to bring a bill in the Monsoon Session of Parliament July 2010[dated info] to provide for deterrent punishment for 'honour' killings .[65]