TW- Mentions Of Rape, Murders
What Is Honour Killing?
Honour killing, mostly refers to the murder of a woman by male family members. The killers explain their actions by asserting that the women brought dishonor to their reputation. Particularly, victims(women) of honor killings generally, are alleged to have involved in a sexual actions(getting intimate with another men not related to one also it doesnt matter even if they were sexually assaulted).
But, a woman can be selected for murder for different of other reasons, including refusing for arrange marriage ,separation husband. The basic suspicion that a woman has acted in a way that probably might harm her family’s name may lead to an attack; these beliefs are usually based on men’s perceptions rather than on truth.
Fatuously, female family members often defend the killings and sometimes help set them up.In addition it projects the lack of characteristics of empathy, love, compassion, tolerance among individual human beings, creates a crisis of reliability in the government machinery to power such killings. It hinders a nation of integration, solidarity, cooperation etc. It hinders peace and shows a lack of optimistic thinking capacity and emotional intelligence. It can be also said that it is not an offence against any individual but in reality it is a crime against the whole society at large where some group of people examine them higher and consider themselves above law.Sadly, even women who are victims of crimes and unfortunate circumstances – such as rape,harresment , forced prostitution, abduction, and neglect by fiancee – also fall prey to honor killing nowadays.
In the 21st century, it was seen that there was an increase in international awareness for honor killing, but some countries remain resistant to take the necessary steps to outlaw it. In the proportional usual event that a man was prosecuted for the killing, the next trial would often be based on the woman’s supposed behaviour, sooner than the violence committed against her. When a man was found guilty, the defendant could assert that the crime had been enacted to restore disgrace to family honor and appeal the court for a reduced sentence. In India, the government enacted strict sanctions for violence against women during the 1980s.
But, honor killings based on inter caste and interreligious marriages pursue to take place in rural areas, where they were largely confidential to police because of direct or indirect support among village residents. Such killings were often governed as accidents when reported. A woman beaten, burned, shot, or stabbed to death could be ruled a suicide , even if there were multiple injury and there was no possibility the woman could have killed herself.
It is seen that this practice is more significant and consistently occurs in various parts of the South East also in the Middle east but more than half occurs in India and Pakistan.
What Leads To Honour Killing?
There are various reasons some of them include refusal for an arranged marriage,attempting for divorce,different rumours regarding one’s family,women who are victims of rape(as they are often believed to bring disgrace or bad luck to their family),indulged in socialising(Purdah is a religious practice of female isolation prevalent among some Muslim and Hindu communities; it prefers women stay indoors),changing religion(blasphemy is punishable act by death in Afghanistan, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi etc), external affairs,outside caste relations and etc.
History Of Honour Killing
Honour killing firstly started in the roman empire,even earlier the Romans were not the first to come across this concept of “honour” in terms of women in law. The Hammurabi Code(it is one of the earliest enduring sets of laws and one of the best maintained examples of this type of document from ancient Mesopotamia.), it was written in 1780 BC, law by the Babylonian king, Hammurabi, who governed in Mesopotamia ( Iraq) from 1792 to 1750 BC, was critical when it came to punishing women chasers. In order to punish them, they were to be tied up and thrown into the river to die. But surprisingly there was no punishment at all for male chasers in this code.
Also, in accordance to Matthew A Goldstein, a historian who studied honor killings in the Roman Empire, described how at the root of such murders was actually the misconception of honor itself, as it was the desire of men to make certain the children their wives bore were their own. Therefore, by putting the responsibility for this “honor” , the women were controlled by this, men could be more certain of the children. Once the woman got married, her father’s authority over her was conveyed to her husband. Disloyalty by women was considered an assault under Roman law( punishable by death) for not taking action against a disloyal female family by seizing their property.
The Napoleonic Code specified that wives need to obey their husbands, meanwhile husbands had the power to send them to sole detention for disloyalty and to divorce .Hence, if a man saw his wife in this act of disloyalty and killed her, he was justified by law.
Honour Killing Is Prevalent In The Following Countries:
Jordan
Honor killings naturally falls under the category of crimes against persons in Jordanian law, as a crime of murder, but they also fall under the heading of diminish justify in cases of murder. According to,Article 340 of the Jordanian Penal Code exempts from punishment those who kill female relatives found liable of committing disloyalty, Article 76 of the short term penal code permits accused to cite diminished reasons in assault crimes. In 2011 Jordanian lawmakers attempted to amend Article 76 to prevent its use by accused in honor killings, but pressure from social groups caused those efforts to stall.
In approximately 5,000 documented cases of honor killings annually worldwide of which about 15 to 20 cases yearly occur in Jordan. These figures could be far from disclosing the true extent of the occurrence as it is difficult to count them. These crimes can take the appearance of an accident, they can be made to look like suicide, disappearance or simply be considered as simple murder. Also, these figures obscure the women who were victims of these crimes but who survived.There are 5,000 documented cases of honor killings annually worldwide of which about 15 to 20 cases annually occur in Jordan. These numbers could be far from disclosing the true extent of the occurrence as it is difficult to count them. These crimes can take the aspect of an accident,mae it look most probably like a suicide, simply be examine as simple murder.
Pakistan
Honor killings in Pakistan are known locally as karo-kari. This practice is prevalent throughout the country but in some parts it is a lot.It has the top number of estimated honor killing per capita of any country in the world;approximately about 1/5 of the world’s honor killings are committed in Pakistan (1,000 out of the 5,000 per year total).In accordance to the Aurat Foundation statistics regarding report for violence against women, it was highlighted that 557 women were killed in 2010,604 in the year 2009. It’s also seen that women are being killed after they are stated as kari(in a way that represents honour), and thus men escape the killing scenario. In 2004, Pakistan’s National Assembly passed the Honor Killing Act, which made any killing in the name of honor a punishable crime.But,this act falls in terms of providing actual protection to the survivors because of the amendments like Qias ,Diyat provision(it basically provides compoundability of crime including killing) which makes the law less useful.
India
Honor killing is prevalent in India especially in north and the ruler areas of India. The Indian Constitution’s Articles 19 and 21 study the rights to freedom and life. Both a person’s rights are violated in an honor killing. Honor crimes defy Articles 14, 15, 19,21 and 39 of the Indian constitution. It is observed that the Increase in a number of honor killing is because the formal governance failed to extend to the rural areas and as a result, this practice continues in today’s world scenario.But also it is not only constricted to rural areas but preferably it is common in the metropolitan cities like Delhi and the state of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh contain more cases of honor killing .According to the National Crime Bureau 2020 statistics, there were a total of 25 cases (States + Union Territories) of honor killings in India. During 2017 and 2018, only one such killing happened, where the reason of the murder was an honor.But, in 2019 an NGO report stated that 195 cases of honor killings were reported alone from Tamil Nadu.That clearly indicates that most of cases of honor killing are unreported.
Afghanistan
Honor killings have been widely prevalent in Afghanistan during the regime of the Taliban. The practice somehow receded during the reconstruction decade that followed the US-led invasion in 2001. Baad, the tradition of giving away a girl to pacify a disturbed party, remains part of Afghanistan’s culture. Any girl who refuses to be subject to this tradition could also be murdered in the name of saving her family’s honor. However, incidents of women’s imprisionment in family vault, female suicides, self immolation, the accidental deaths continued to be reported which looked like modified kind of honor killing.
In October 2012 The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission raised this concern , stating that 60 cases of honor killings were reported in the six months of Afghanistan. Most of the cases in the remote corners are not recorded. The return of the Taliban was alarming; it indicated that women’s abuse and oppression will again increase. There was a sudden increase in violence against women like assassinations,beating,beheading etc.Women who escape honor killing are sent to prisons for ‘moral crimes’. The Human Rights Watch’s report dated March 2012 states, its statistics show that there were roughly 400 women and girls who were imprisoned for “moral crimes”. They comprise about half of all women in Afghanistan’s prisons and mostly teenage girls in young detention facilities. Many of these women prefer to remain in prison because they think that once they are released, they will be killed by relatives as punishment for disregarding the honor of their families.
According to the Constitution women have equal rights and the EVAW law made nearly all forms of violence against women punishable. The legal framework established what is right and wrong in a society that operates in a model of honor and shame.Also, Justice mechanisms that exist are unable to reach remote localities where honor killings are uncontrolled.
The government of Afghanistan is potentially the single biggest and most powerful force that could address the issue of honor killings in the short and long term periods. In the short term, its national and local officials should come out in the open and run an aggressive information campaign declaring that honor killing is a heinous crime that is punishable under the law. It should also undertake a high profile announcement about prominent people who committed honor killings and the punishments that each of them meted through the courts. Information and advocacy against honor killing should be a mandatory content of messages by government officials to the people for a continuous period of two years. Justice personnel should go through reorientation and gender awareness training and certain NGOs should be accredited to monitor the performance of the courts in the disposition of honor killing cases. In the communities, peoples’ mechanisms should be established to support families who face crises related to dishonor and enable them to deal with the situation without resorting to lawlessness and violence. Informal justice mechanisms must be capacitated to act in accordance with the provisions of the law.
It can be inferred from the text that this brutal practice of honor killing is prevalent in many countries.It’s such a pity that a woman sacrifices or donates her life for the family and does her responsibilities. But, still they aren’t given respect for their work and often are the victims of discriminations. In addition, if a man is involved in an affair he won’t be regarded as a criminal whereas for a woman, her life will become hell and she would be hanged to death. Why is there injustice?Even a woman can fall in love after her marriage, it’s a natural emotion. Although, legal steps are taken in society to abolish this practice but sadly still the numbers are daunting. It’s important to raise awareness regarding this practice so that women can liberate themselves and break the shackles of this so-called male dominated patriarchal society.