Despite law, men still kill for ‘honour’

280 such murders were recorded by Human Rights Commission from October 2016 to June

Ayear since new laws came into force aimed at stemming the flow of “honour killings”, scores of young women in deeply conservative Pakistan are still being murdered by relatives for bringing shame on their family.

The shocking murder of Pakistani social media star Qandeel Baloch by her brother last July turned the spotlight on an epidemic of so-called honour killings and sparked a fresh push to close loopholes allowing the killers to walk free.

Long-awaited legislation was finally passed three months later in a move cautiously hailed by women’s rights activists.

But, more than a year on, lawyers and activists say honour killings are still occurring at an alarming pace.

At least 280 such murders were recorded by the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, from October 2016 to June — a figure believed to be underestimated and incomplete.

“There has been no change,” Benazir Jatoi, a lawyer who works for the independent Aurat Foundation, a women’s rights watchdog, told AFP.

“In fact, the Peshawar High Court twice acquitted a man of honour crimes after this law was passed,” she added.

The new legislation mandates life imprisonment for honour killings, but whether a murder can be defined as a crime of honour is left to the judge’s discretion.

Changing statement

That means the culprits can simply claim another motive and still be pardoned, said Dr Farzana Bari, a widely-respected activist and head of the Gender Studies Department at Islamabad’s Quaid-i-Azam University. They can do so under Pakistan’s Qisas (blood money) and Diyat (retribution) law, which allows them to seek forgiveness from a victim’s relatives — a convenient means of escape in honour cases.

Bari called for a study on the murders of women over the past year to ascertain the scale of the problem.

The convoluted courts system also often sees police encouraging parties to enter blood money compromises, circumventing the beleaguered judicial system altogether.

Men can be victims too, but the violence is overwhelmingly aimed at women.

AFP Wasim (right), and his cousin, who are accused of killing Qandeel Baloch, are escorted by policeman as they arrive at a local court in Multan earlier this month.