PHOTO: EXPRESS
Killings in the name of ‘honour’ have been a part of our society for a long time and there seems to be little effort made to curb this menace. Honour killings take place in order to save the so-called pride of a family or community. There are those who believe that certain acts bring great dishonour to the whole family and the way to regain their ‘honour’ is to perpetrate murder.
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In recent years, honour killing cases have surged to an alarming level in Punjab, especially Faisalabad. The crime continues with impunity and the laws adopted to curb this custom seem ineffective in controlling it.
According to police record, in the past few months of the current year, at least 44 people, including 18 women and 26 men were killed under the garb of so called ‘honour’ across Faisalabad District. However, in 2016, comparatively less cases of such nature were reported as 31 people were murdered over ‘honour’.
In Lahore, the largest city in Punjab, only seven people were murdered in the name of honour in 2016 while 13 people were killed in 2015.
A police official, requesting anonymity, told The Express Tribune, “Majority of the accused involved in such killings and nominated in the FIRs were arrested while cases were also submitted before the respective courts for their trial.”
He added, “There are only five cases in which the nominated accused are still at large, however, efforts are being made to arrest them.”
Experts’ opinion
While speaking to The Express Tribune, University of Agriculture Faisalabad’s Sociology Department Chairman Dr Ashfaq Mann said, “There is need to analyse the reasons behind the menace of honour killings.” He added, “We should consider socio-cultural and traditional factors which play pivotal role in triggering such crimes in our society.”
He maintained, “This issue is not a recent phenomenon rather it is a part of our lives since the British rule when such incidents used to occur and the accused were not taken to task.”
Ashfaq Mann pointed out the British never interfered in the customs and traditions of the locals and in this backdrop, their leniency towards honour crimes resulted in strengthening this custom and transforming it into a legal defence.
“Time has come that the whole society has to come forward and show their resentment against such evil practices,” he said.
Similarly, Rights Activist Amina Zaman told The Express Tribune, “Such incidents were ignored in the past which encouraged this tendency. It is high time that the government should take serious notice of the issue and end this custom.”
She elaborated, “It has become a permanent phenomenon that after such incidents the police officials and government functionaries give assurance of conducting independent investigation but practically such assurance is never put into effect in letter and spirit.”
Zaman said when honour killing cases are submitted in courts for trials, the witnesses refuse to come forward. “In majority of the cases, the witnesses are pressurised to change their statements which is the main reason for acquittal of the accused involved in such heinous crimes,” she lamented.
New bill passed
Recently, the Punjab Assembly passed a new bill against honour killing with an objective to provide legal protection to women. As part of the bill, all forms of violence against women have been criminalised while centres would be established across the province to remove hurdles which complicate a woman’s quest for justice.
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Under the new law, relatives of the victims would only be able to pardon the killer if he is sentenced to capital punishment. However, the culprit would still face a mandatory life sentence of twelve-and-a-half years.
According to a report, two hundred and thirty-one persons including 185 women were murdered in the spate of honour killings in Punjab during 2016.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 15th, 2017.
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