Daily Times

Honour killing is whereby a victim is murdered because the perpetrators believe that the victim has injured the honour of the family. The victims are associated with the murderer in some way, usually being a close relative. The primary motive of the murderer is their belief that the victim has brought shame and dishonour upon the family, say, by marrying the person of their choice, not consenting to a marriage, having extramarital and premarital sexual relations etc.

Honour killing is generally protected under international law through the right to life via various international instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 3, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights’ Article 6 etc. Under Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), State parties must work to eliminate patterns of social and culture issues that discriminate against women. Honour killing can be perceived to fall under this category. Similarly, one may evaluate that since honour killing is an obvious form of “violence against women in the family”, this categorises them as an extreme form of physical harm- thus establishing a relation with the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence against Women. Such a notion was recognised by CEDAW’s General Recommendation No. 19[1].

The Beijing Platform for Action from the United Nations 1995 Fourth World Conference and the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power also called for similar accountabilities under which honour killing can be placed. Where honour killing against children is committed, the Convention on the Rights of the Child can also be invoked.

When it comes to our country, protection from honour killing can be traced back to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973 which guards the fundamental rights of every citizen in Part II’s Chapter 1. This includes the right to life, dignity, liberty, equality before the law etc[2]. Additionally the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2004 was also legislation with the intention to counter honour killing. Thus, its Section 302(c)[3] directly referenced to honour killing. Likewise, the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 has also penned honour killing to be an offence punishable by a minimum ten year imprisonment sentence in its Section 311[4]. In Sajjad Hussain v. The State[5], the honourable High Court confirmed that an honour killing conviction should be met with severe punishments in order to uphold the sanctity of the law.

From infamous honour killing cases, like the honour killing of Qandeel Baloch, to the countless cases that remain unreported, Pakistan has a long way to go in order to counter the rising occurrences of honour killing. A lot of it may be attributed to religious extremism, intolerance, abuse of power, extreme patriarchy etc, and so a better mechanism should be devised in order to ensure proper and strict application of laws that ensure that the victim can get access to justice.

Conclusively, despite the existence of accountability laws, honour killing still remains a rising threat due to lack of proper enforcement mechanisms. Its status as a heinous offence should be recognised on all platforms, and more effort should be exerted to raising awareness about it.

[1] CEDAW General Recommendation No. 19: Violence Against Women (11^th Session, 1992) UN doc A/47/38

[2] Constitution of Pakistan (1973), Articles 8-28

[3] Criminal Law (Amendment) Act (2004)

[4] Pakistan Penal Code (1860)

[5] (2016 YLR 1517)