Another day and another woman crumbles to dust under the tyrannical hand of honour killing. In Rajanpure, a married woman was stoned and clubbed to death just because her husband felt overwhelmed by her alleged illicit relations with a man. Although a case has been registered against all those said to be part of this blood-chilling spectacle of power, there remains no surety about the provision of justice and closure to the victim and her family members. As seen in most cases, societal notions would spring into action and the culprits would most probably walk free; ready to crush yet another woman.
There can be no honour attached to the horrific crime of honour killing. Pages upon pages have been littered with condemnations as editorials in this publication have argued (at the expense of sounding downright monotonous) about the sanctity of human life. However, the heinous practices continue to plague our society. About one-fifth of all the honour killings in the world are committed in Pakistan despite the passage of a host of laws against this abdominal practice. The unequal power dynamics within families are often declared the biggest factor that helps establish an environment where women are treated as property while their lives are subject to the control and whims of others. This toxic mindset continues to hinder progress, erode human rights, and undermine the potential of half our population.
Yet, it would be just as criminal to become complacent with the target on the individual families’ backs. How can a society that takes immense pride in its championing of ideals and family-oriented values gulp down the heart-wrenching living conditions of so many? If the state was actually serious about taking concerted action against these factories of blackmail and naked violation of its write, the law enforcement agencies would have long made examples out of those who routinely gather around to watch a helpless woman tortured to death. Honour killing would have to be treated as cases of pure homicides by police and the courts without any factoring in of societal realities. Failure to do so means an open declaration of whose corner all of us are rooting for. *