web analytics

No Honor In Killing Women

Like other Muslim countries, in Pakistan too honor killings enjoy larger public supports and killing of innocent girls & women in the name of honor or ‘Ghairat’ is a widespread notion especially at peak tribal areas of interior Sindh, KPK, Punjab & Balochistan. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported 1030 honor killings in 2013. At least 161 victims were minors. Each & every year the figure is around 900-1100. Normally these murders are done by immediate blood relatives like fathers, brothers & husbands in various incidences like having illicit relations, consuming love marriages without the will of a family, heir-ship / kinship property disputes and other domestic violence.

According to official data presented in Pakistan’s Senate, more than 4,000 people were killed during the last six years in the name of ‘family honor’. In Pakistan, being an abode of rich cultural, tribal & Islamic impressions, temperament & psychology of different nationalities varies with regards to honor killings. Further while appreciating constructive cultural traits & practices; one cannot simply close his eyes to cruel traits & negativities like one as ‘honor killings’. In this man dominant society, these killings had been continued for long and may be from the time of stone-age.

We hear the news of Karo-Kari on every day basis in Pakistan, where women being killed on the name of prestige, treated like animals for no reason and their lives are wasted. In Interior Sindh women are killed on the name of so called honor and for controlling this crime there is no law which could curb this evil practice. Especially, In the interior parts of Sindh, where the Feudal system has ruled over the poor inhabitants for centuries, no one could dare to raise voice against injustice.

They are the people who are ruining lives of so many women because they considered them as their private property. Feudalism is the root cause of all the problems because in this system honor killing is being considered as their values and part of culture. Ironically, the Feudal lords name honor killings as an old custom, and on top of that they don’t even consider this brutality as a violent and criminal act.

Killing sisters, wives & even mothers in the name of KARO-KARI is very common in Sindh. According to the KARO-KARI rules when a male and female whenever seen in suspicious, isolated condition or even talking to each other in physically alone would easily be identified as KARO-KARI and killed on the spot. The execution is mostly carried out through an axe or dagger; which always carried by typical Sindhis villagers according to their tradition. Sindhi word ‘KARO’ is used for male accused, and ‘KARI’ is used for female one.

There is no age discrimination, be them 14-15 or 50-70, once declared as Karo Kari, not even God can save them. This barbaric law also comes under discussion in Pakistani Parliament, but no solution has been discovered, no judicial law in Pakistan is against this traditional law. It even supported by various politicians & tribal leaders in Sindh. In one year approximately hundred of murders are reported in Sindh and most of the victims were women, because male can easily escape from the scene.

 The Special Task Force for Sindh of H.R.C.P. (Human Resource Commission of Pakistan) received reports of 296 cases of karo-kari killings in Sindh in 2013, involving 255 deaths. However, most cases are never reported. A Sindhi male by nature is always suspicious & mistrustful to their sisters, wives & mothers. The male cannot allow that a stranger should talk to his sister or wife.

To get rid of ones wife, it is very easy for a Sindhi to declare her as KARO KARI and a subsequent murder will take place. It is also one of the traditions in Sindh to marry off one’s daughter to the Holy Quran or even with a Tree! Once this happened, she can never ever marry with any other male. While getting married a mature girl with little kids is another Sindhi custom. Cast & clan system among Sindhis is very strong i.e. why marrying outside the community is very rare. Personalized jails of Sindhi Wadeeras (Feudal Lords) are also common in Sindh, wherein poor peasants (Harees) are kept in custody with their families and women are raped.

The Feudal and landlords always exert their influence on our government because they are the ones who are permanently sitting in parliament in one way or another and thus, they never allow any legislation to abolish the evil Karo-Kari system. So, if it continues this way how the situation will improve and this brutal act would be be eradicated, no solution for that except one that all these so called landlords law should be banned in Interior parts of Pakistan and government should made special laws for these kinds of areas where the powerful people are doing every brutal act just on the name of “Power” and “Land”.

They have so much brutal attitude that they had built a separate Graveyard for such women who are convicted in bringing disgrace to their family and so called men. But in these entire situation every year hundred of women are buried in these graveyards without any fear of law and no one is allowed to even questioned about their identity, because all the law and order personal especially police are helpless because they all are in control of so called ‘Wadeeras’ who are supposed to be their care takers.

There are so many things to write about honor killing but it is of no use because of the government attitude towards stopping this menace, and eradicating from the society. Why we cannot eradicate this brutality from society? Why we cannot stop violence? Why we cannot give rights to women? Why. In my opinion this is all because of the weak law and order situation and no fear of being punished.

When criminals are ruling the government in Pakistan and sitting in the parliaments than in this situation how we can expect any change in Pakistani society. The only hope is that men should personally realize the rights of women and start considering them as human and this change can only be possible if illiteracy rate can be controlled. NGOs and human activists should conduct seminars and awareness campaigns to aware the people about the consequences of honor killing and should force the government to take effective steps to eradicate the Feudalism from interior part of Pakistan otherwise this practice cannot be controlled and it will keep on increasing and make its hold more stronger and as per my opinion ‘Its nobler to lose honor to save the lives of women than it is to gain honor by taking them.’

Facebook Comments