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

Role of the Community
It is generally agreed that the community plays an extremely important
role in the commission of honour killings. Although society is divided on
the acceptance or rejection of honour killings, they are nevertheless
involved in a variety of ways.
Attitudes prevailing in the community play the role of instigator. It is
according to the standards set by the community that ‘honour’ is held to
be a vital ingredient, and that women are seen as the gateway to men’s
‘honour’. The community constantly perpetuates the subordinate role of
women, and if a woman tries to break out of this role or behaves in a
manner not ‘acceptable’, then it is community who condemns her and
thereby condemns her family. It is the community that is intolerant of
women behaving any differently, and it is community that expects the
misbehaving woman’s family to ‘handle’ her, i.e. remove the stain on
their family honour. It is also the community that pressures and taunts
men to control their family. Therefore, it can be said that it is the
community that places the men under pressure to behave in a certain way.
The community also plays a major role through its passive role in not
extending help to the potential victim or the victim’s family. The majority
of community members remain neutral or silent, and try not to intervene
in order to avoid their own involvement. Getting involved could result in
becoming part of a family feud or placing them or their own family in
danger. This passiveness of the community in a sense encourages the
perpetrators to get away with such murders.
Further support is gained from the community’s reaction post the
commission of an honour killing. The community treats the family of the
victim very harshly, socially isolating them. They try to disconnect
themselves from the family. In most of the cases it becomes impossible
for the victims’ family to live with their respect intact in their own
69