From Khairpur Mirs to Sheesh Mahal, Faiz Mahal, and Fort Diji to Mehrano one can see mesmerizing natural beauty. It is one of the largest districts in Sindh and is immensely diverse in topography and nature, this is pictorial Khairpur for us. However, on the other hand, honour killing is an ugly truth in our country, especially in Sindh. A new day, and the same old story in Khairpur. One more innocent life becomes a victim of the unjust, wadera culture where women are seen as commodities and treated worse than animals. Every now and then girls are killed in the name of honour in Khairpur but the government is doing nothing against these feudal lords who just hold jirgas to resolve issues.
Without any doubt, jirga system is one of the major structures that maintain honour killings in Sindh. To make it clear to my readers, jirga is a decision making assembly or tribal council. This is a tribal system of justice which is actively practiced in Pakistan and mainly in interior Sindh to settle legal cases and disputes, despite being banned by the government. Such councils are managed by local elites and are composed only of men, particularly those who already are influential and inherited power within the braderi (shared community) clan or tribe. Interestingly, Sindh has come up with highest number of women protection laws / pro-women laws but the mindset of the sindhi society is still inhumane. Therefore, honourkillings may be prevented by reducing the influence and interference of feudal lords by state institutions, in particular by law enforcement agencies, and by promoting education that challenges a patriarchal and feudal mindset in the community.
How can wan forget TasleemSolangi who was killed with shocking ferocity: first, dogs were released on her, biting her legs repeatedly, until she fell to the ground and the she was gunned down. Another case in 2018, was of an eight-month pregnant woman from the same district of Sindh, who was allegedly shot dead by her brother for marrying of her own free will. We as social activists can keep screaming and crying for the victims, but no substantial outcome will come out of it unless and until a discourse on ‘honour’ not being attached to a woman is widely held.
In 2018 a report furnished by Sindh’s women development department shows a total of 1,643 cases of various types of violent acts from honour killing to custody of children and maintenance were registered. One recent example took place on February 1, a very sad incident when innocent Rimsha was brutally murdered at her house in village Nawab Khan Wassan, Kotdiji, Khairpur by 1 to 4 unidentified individuals. She was hit by nine bullets using a 9mm weapon in the name of honour. As per the source, the murderers were a symbol of terror in the area and had previously committed three honour killings but have never been arrested just because of strong political backing. As per my sources, the accused wanted to form a ‘friendship’ with Rimsha and abducted her, kept her at his residence and repeatedly raped her. Later, after facing pressure from a few influential persons she (Rimsha) was returned but killed as the influential family was afraid she might pursue her case in the court. Moreover, I am well aware of the dynamics and power politics of Khairpur Mirs from the last 4 years, there are a few influential families who control every single action which happens nearby. They control the police, the district administration, government offices and even the general and ordinary public.
I want to remind the Sindh government that two important bills were presented in the Sindh Assembly previously against honour killings and acid throwing incidents. However, they are still in the pending stage, the government should take up this issue and pass this law without any more delay
I want to request the Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Bilawal who have a strong stance and viewpoint in favour of women empowerment, that the civil society of Pakistan demands true justice for Rimsha and wants the government to take serious and concrete actions. However, arresting the culprit is not enough, we want justice for this cold blooded murder. Moreover, I request the civil society and social activists to gather together, stand by the helpless family and make sure that the culprit pays for what he thought he could escape easily. They have been arrested, but what matters more is that they should be made an example of deter such actions in the future. It’s high time that these cultural barriers and the vicious cycle of power is broken. Every girl and every life is precious. CM Sindh should test the waters and ask for a written justification from the PPP’s MPA Munawar Wassan and MNA Nafisa Shah to explain this sad incident as they are the elected representatives from this area of Khairpur. Both of these elected representatives haven’t showed up in their respective communities, and that’s very upsetting for those who voted for PPP. However, I want to acknowledge and salute a female parliamentarian, Nusrat Abbasi who raised her voice on the floor to ask for justice for Rimsha.
Lastly, I want to remind the Sindh government that two important bills were presented in the Sindh Assembly previously against honour killings and acid throwing incidents. However, they are still in the pending stage, the government should take up this issue and pass this law without any more delay. Under this law the killers will have no other option but to go to the gallows or spend their entire lives behind bars.
Published in Daily Times, February 14th 2019.