Honour killings
By Zahid Ali Zohri
LAMENTABLY yet again, four cousins murdered in suspected ‘honour’ killing in the Lotar area of Upper Kohistan, a far-flung district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on the orders of the family elders over suspicion of illicit relationships . Similar horrendous killings also had happened during 2012, in which 5 girls were brutally murdered for clapping while male dancers performed at a wedding ceremony.
The role of jirga in this regard has always remained negative and hence supportive to the holistic idea of so-called honour killings. To them, death of victim is viewed as a way to restore the reputation and honour of the family.
Illiteracy and backwardness in the district still perpetuates inhuman traditions. But, one should not justify them by associating them with the ideas of village life and tribal customs because the victims deserve the same rights we all have and deserve.
Despite the recent legal reforms, honour killings are practiced commonly in Pakistan. About one-fifth of the world’s honour killings are performed in Pakistan unfortunately (1,000 out of the 5,000 total).
This despicable practice needs to be ended. Change will not truly happen unless the extirpation of deeply embedded perspective and ideology in general public’s minds pertaining ‘honour killings’, which will, of course, happen by education and awareness.
The contributor is a resident of District Nagar, Gilgit-Baltistan.
