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

patrilineage 17 . From this follows two important notions on which the
whole concept is based.
Firstly, the idea of men’s ‘honour’ needs to be explored. Knudsen 18
defines it in terms of familial respect (izzat) and social prestige (ghairat);
as a relation between a person’s own feelings of self-worth and that of the
peer-group (“honour group”) to which he belongs. ‘Honour’ is bestowed
at the behest of society and, therefore, it can also be lost and must be
regained.
The second notion is that of women as the property of men. This concept
of women as objects is based on tribal cultures. Khan points out: "Women
are considered the property of the males in their family irrespective of
their class, ethnic or religious groups. The owner of the property has the
right to decide its fate. The concept of ownership has turned women into
a commodity which can be exchanged, bought and sold" 19 .
This ‘commodification’ of women is directly linked to the obsession with
patrilineage i.e. ensuring protection/ownership of the women’s womb. As
a woman’s only asset, as mentioned above, is seen to be her reproductive
capability and an object for sex desires, this concept is taken further to
establish the need of controlling women’s sexuality. By exercising any
freedom, including sexual freedom, or attempts to break free of the
control, she challenges the whole social order, undermining the
ownership rights of others to her body. Women's physical chastity is of
uppermost importance, and by the merest hint of 'illicit' sexual interest a
17 P. 45, ‘Beyond Honour’, Tahira S. Khan, Oxford University Press
18 Are Knudsen, ‘License to kill: Honour Killings in Pakistan’, Chr. Michelsen Institute
Development Studies and Human Rights, 2004
19
Honour Killings in Pakistan, Neshay Najam,
http://www.islamawareness.net/HonourKilling/
19