Tayyaba Rehan is a student at the National Defence University. She is currently pursuing her degree in defense and strategic studies. She has worked with multiple governmental and non-governmental organizations. Her articles have been published in national as well as international publications.
While speaking of issues being faced by contemporary Pakistan, one cannot be oblivious to the case of honor killing being as widespread as deeply entrenched. That has been the reason for countless deaths and unimaginable suffering due to this social problem steeped in traditional patriarchal ethos. Honour killing refers to the murder of a family member by other members of the family who believe that the victim has brought dishonour to them; because of this, most women fall prey to it.
One of the major causes of this dishonour may be due to reasons such as refusing an arranged marriage, applying for a divorce, or even allegations of immoral conduct. They justify the act while defending the family’s honour most of the time. This issue of honour killing in Pakistan is deeply rooted within the cultural, societal, and religious ethos of the country.
The latent pluralistic structure of Pakistani society, which essentially forms the internal fabric of Pakistani society, most commonly identifies women as custodians of family honor, thereby assigning them a tight code of behavior. Any act deviating from this code is perceived as immorality, refusal of an arranged marriage, or even seeking a divorce is perceived as a crime that soils the family’s good name. This is punished severely, often fatally, to restore the reputation of the family within society.
Such is the alarming frequency of such cases. According to statistics by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, in the two years starting from February 2014 to 2016, there have been 1,276 honour killings, out of which only 400 are officially registered by the police as crimes. However, human rights campaigners say the real figure is much........