Clearly, the question of honour, though not spelled out, comes into play. Allegedly, the father died of shock because his daughter had, by marrying of her choice, maligned the family honour. The fact that she was a grown woman, able to make her own choices in life, seems irrelevant. What is shocking, however, is that this ‘honour’ killing took place in an urban city, rather than the rural backwaters of the country where the lack of education and the prevalence of ancient customs can be held responsible for the brother’s senseless response. And then, of course, there is the allegation of thievery. Neither action, however, justifies murder.
However, this attitude of meting out justice as we see fit has become part of our new culture. We no longer seem to need the courts. We lynch suspected thieves and blasphemers, we decide how the Aasia Bibis should be tried and under what laws, and threaten protests and killings to manoeuvre which bills should be presented in parliament and which should be turned into law.
It is precisely in order to change this culture, to show that there is no excuse for taking the law into one’s own hands, that the culprits should be dealt with strictly. No matter what the reason, the issue should not have been resolved with guns. It is time that police authorities and the courts stepped up and made an example of the culprits, so the next time the male members of a family decide to ‘defend’ their ‘honour’, they pause to consider the ramifications. This killing should serve as a wake-up call to civil society to realise that we have a long way to go in terms of bringing education and the concept of women’s rights to the masses. Much more needs to be done in this area, before age-old customs of women being treated as chattel are done away with.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 26th, 2011.
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