'Honour Killings' in Pakistan and Compliance of ... - Aurat Foundation

Introduction
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2004, otherwise known as the
‘Honour Killings Act’, was promulgated after the murders of thousands
of innocent women and girls and years of demands and struggle from
different segments of society for a legislation to provide protection to
citizens, especially women and girls; to make illegal and criminalize all
murders committed under the name of ‘honour’; and to punish the
perpetrators, aiders, abettors and supporters of these crimes.
The 2004 Act amended the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Criminal
Procedure Code (CrPC) to define karo kari (honour killings) as murder
with penal punishments. It has been held up by the government as a show
of their commitment to eliminate honour killings and violence against
women.
However, the Act falls short of providing actual protection to
survivors/victims and ensuring punishment for the perpetrators and
supporters of this heinous crime. It has been severely criticized by civil
society, including eminent legal scholars. The amendments mostly deal
with the Qisas and Diyat provisions in the PPC, but have left some major
lacunas, which have, in effect, rendered the law useless.
The problems lie not just in the law itself but in its implementation. With
the implicit consent of society, the murderers are given protection and
impunity from within the community, which extends to the police, courts
and other implementing agents and agencies. Apart from the inherent
biases within these bodies, problems also lie with the methods of
investigations, lack of up-dated machinery and tools etc.
With the Government holding up the 2004 Act as a success story of
Pakistan, it is essential that this ‘success’ should be measured and its
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