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

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6. Perspective of the Community While evaluating the implementation of any law, it is vital to also examine its effect, if any, on the community. Laws, especially those that fall into the realm of ‘human rights laws,’ are promulgated with the intention of creating a social change. Accordingly, it is also important to gain the perspective of the community as to whether any change has come about at all. It is also essential to ascertain their point of view regarding gaps in the law and its implementation, alongside any difference it may have made within the value and belief system of society and the mode and prevalence of honour killings in society today. For this reason a series of focus group discussions and interviews were conducted in the selected districts with a variety of different members of community, including the police, lawyers, health workers, NGO personnel etc. This section is a compilation of the discussions and interviews. A number of views have already been mentioned in the above sections, but they have all been consolidated under this section. It is generally felt in the community that the incidence of honour killings has increased. However, the media states that there may not have been an increase in the incidence, but in the reporting of it. Whereas before no one would talk about honour killings, now they are discussed, not just on a national and international stage but even within smaller communities who had previously considered it a taboo subject. Arif Hassan has noted through his research that the incidence has increased and become more violent due to the increasing freedom of women and their attempts to gain these freedoms, as well as of murders being committed under the pretext of honour killings while in fact there are other reasons behind it. 75 75 Interview with the author 63
Causes of ‘Honour Killings’ When discussing the causes of honour killings, a number of different issues were brought forward. Some of these have been discussed above, such as the dominating issue of supposed male supremacy and the subordination of women, as well as the consideration of women as the property of men. The community also generally agree that one of the major causes relate to the supposed ‘honour’ of men and the social nonacceptance of diminishing of ‘honour’. Often the social intolerance and taaney (taunts) about the lack of control that men exert over their own household provoke the perpetrators into committing the crime. And society plays the role of silent condemner. One important element discussed was the trend to commit murder of women for a variety of reasons under the pretext of honour killings in order to give it social sanction, while in reality there were completely different motivations. These include situations of family feuds in which women are the bargaining chips as well as collateral damage, revenge, desire to contract another marriage etc. Poverty was a major contributing factor to a number of other issues, such as ownership of property, or with regards to inheritance, i.e. removing women from the scene in order to remove a legal heir, or to place the blame on another to remove him as a legal heir. Land feuds have also been the actual motives behind honour killings, and accusing another for committing an honour killing of a woman in the family can be an effective way to blackmail and sue for financial gains through compromise. As discussed above, women in recent years have also started to transgress the social boundaries and break the bonds imposed on them by a male dominated society. With a greater number of women being educated, or entering the work force, or even being influenced through example, it becomes more and more difficult for them to remain within the traditional 64
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A Pilot Study on: ‘Honour Killing
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Table of Contents Preface 1 Introdu
Page 8 and 9:
Preface Elimination of all negative
Page 10 and 11:
the nature and extent of its compli
Page 12 and 13:
Introduction The Criminal Law (Amen
Page 14:
formalised by the State and ‘lega
Page 17 and 18:
Gender is one of the organisational
Page 19 and 20: their rights were achieved on paper
Page 21 and 22: elatives), in effect excluding all
Page 24 and 25: 3. “Honour Killings”: their Pre
Page 26 and 27: patrilineage 17 . From this follows
Page 28 and 29: compensation negotiated to end a di
Page 30: divorced or excommunicated, an act
Page 33 and 34: Article 340 of the Jordanian Penal
Page 35 and 36: monitor women’s movements and kil
Page 37 and 38: mitigation, compensation for the he
Page 39 and 40: The discretion of the court to deci
Page 41 and 42: down for such cases. This applies t
Page 43 and 44: to properly determine the issue bef
Page 45 and 46: Table 1: Number & Percentages of Ca
Page 47 and 48: the police stations are not even eq
Page 49 and 50: Findings of the Research The findin
Page 51 and 52: When asked about the lack of filing
Page 53 and 54: Gujrat Gujrat also shows a similar
Page 55 and 56: community. Perhaps this has been on
Page 57 and 58: eporting it will do when registerin
Page 59 and 60: Jillani reiterated Justice Abbasi
Page 61 and 62: death and it was subsequently disco
Page 63 and 64: Lahore High Court The Lahore High C
Page 65 and 66: meditation falling under the defini
Page 67 and 68: for conservative and biased interpr
Page 72 and 73: mindset and existing confining soci
Page 74 and 75: even if cases are brought to them,
Page 76 and 77: Role of the Community It is general
Page 78 and 79: court settlement is preferred. Such
Page 80 and 81: 7. Conclusion and Main Findings It
Page 82 and 83: 6. There are also problems with the
Page 84 and 85: 12. These precedents are not necess
Page 86 and 87: hold through these illegal forms of
Page 88: 24. The police can play a very nega
Page 91: The police system is in dire need o
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