No honour in killing

The Supreme Court has observed that killing of women in the name of ‘honour’ has never an honourable practice and such murders should not be termed as ‘honour killings’. The remarks of the apex court show such practice and attitudes are present in our society

The top court observed that the Urdu word ‘ghairat’ should not be translated as ‘honour’ as it doesn’t have an equivalent, rather a more accurate translation should be ‘arrogance’. The court added that it will help deter such killing if the term ‘ghairat’ is not used for such killings.

Pakistan has one of the highest cases of honour killings committed primarily against women on the pretext of honour and often the murderer provides some justice for his crime. In many areas, it also elevates the killer’s social status as if it was a divinely ordained task.

Local courts are often lenient with the perpetrators and they received reduced sentences or are absolved. In one instance, a court in Nankana commuted the death sentence of a man who killed his sister on the suspicion of infidelity because he only shot her once. Many cases are not even reported and often the killer is released by the archaic feudal system with minor fines.

Violence against women continues to grow in Pakistan, yet not enough is being done against the practice.  Attempts to pass legislation against domestic violence and honour killing remain stalled and are yet to see implemented. Many crimes are often not reported to police in the first place either due to weak social status, non-cooperation by police and poor investigation and prosecution.

For many years, Pakistan has been consistently ranked among the most dangerous counties for women. The conviction rate is shamefully low and it is unfortunate that not enough has been done to dissuade crimes against women as violence had permeated and is now considered a part of our society.

It is imperative that there is strong legislation and prosecution for crimes against women including honour killing. More importantly, we need to bring a paradigm change in societal attitudes towards women. As the apex court observed, there is no honour in the killings and it was necessary to dissuade from such crimes.