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

justice” or “tribal justice”, a contested form of private retribution that
many find unwarranted and illegitimate 15 .
While the concept of honour killings goes back to pre-Islamic Arabia, it
has also been traced to ancient Roman times, when the paterfamilias
retained the right to kill an unmarried but sexually active daughter or an
adulterous wife. It is not known when, or indeed if, the practice ended in
Europe 16 . In Pakistan, the concept traces back to Pakhtun and Baloch
tribal customs. It has however since become prevalent in both Sindh and
in Punjab, resulting in murders being committed across the country
without any regional or class boundaries.
Honour killings have transcended into modern times and are rampant
across the world.
Pakistan is no exception to these killings. They are high in number, often
non-reported therefore the statistics collected even now are incomplete
and can only give a slight over-view of what the actual situation may be.
In fact, honour killings, even from the incomplete number of cases
reported, is one of the most prevalent forms of violence against women in
Pakistan.
Understanding the Rationale Behind ‘Honour Killings’
Understanding the concept of ‘honour killings’, as mentioned earlier, is
extremely important to be able to have a holistic understanding of the
crime. It is firmly based in a patriarchal system, obsessed with the idea of
15 Nancy V. Baker, Peter A. Gregware and Margery A. Cassidy. "Family Killing Fields:
Honor
16 Rationales in the Murder of Women." Violence Against Women 5, No. 2 (1991):
164–84.
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