Femicide: The Social Injustice behind Honor Killings in Pakistan

On March 2, 2016, violence struck the tribal territory of Lahore, Pakistan when a Muslim male named Mohommad Asif perpetrated an honor killing by murdering his two younger sisters, simply because he disapproved of their lifestyle. This was not the first time Asif committed femicide to preserve his family’s reputation. Just five years prior, he slaughtered his mother on account of her immoral behavior where she simply talked to a man that was not her husband (McCoy 1). Even though honor killings are criminal acts according to the official Pakistani law, ultimately, Asif evaded prosecution since the jirga, or tribal council, in Pakistan delivered their own justice by making an agreement with his family to resolve the dispute. Unfortunately, this case is not isolated. While honor killings plague many Middle Eastern Muslim countries like Jordan, Egypt, and Palestine, they have quickly risen over the past decade in Pakistan.

Honor killings are highly prevalent in the rural areas of Pakistan where the majority of Muslims follow the illegitimate authority of jirgas who claim that the Quran justifies using violence against Muslim women who defy moral standards. The jirga system, comprised of male Muslim elders, functions to settle disputes and serve justice, based on Islamic principles rather than Pakistani law. With respect to the tribal jirga’s proceedings on honor killings, the majority of members reach the consensus that honor killings are not a crime. Thus, practically all of the deliberated verdicts regarding cases of honor killings in Pakistan contradict the basic human rights of Muslim women, and allow for the perpetrator to emerge unscathed by circumventing Pakistani laws against honor killings. While the Pakistani government has implemented legislative measures to criminalize honor killings, they are unable to exercise control over each of the tribal jirgas that condones honor killings. So, in order to diminish the number of honor killings in Pakistan, the Pakistani government needs to state that the singular religious beliefs, held by tribal authorities, cannot prevail over social policy. First, the Pakistani government must create stronger laws banning honor killings in every region of Pakistan, even for Muslims under the jurisdiction of tribal law. In addition to this new legislation, the Pakistani government must also introduce educational programs that promote human rights for Pakistani women.

It remains an injustice that Pakistani Muslim women are beholden to a tradition of honor amongst Muslim males who uphold tribal law and expect these women to maintain izzat, a form of familial respect, and ghariat, meaning social prestige, at all times (Hasina 66). In Pakistani tribal culture, if a woman fails to abide by her traditional honor code, she shames her family and subjects herself to death. Muslim women automatically become targets for kala kali, a practice more commonly referred to as an honor killing, when they are a suspected victim of rape, refuse to accept a pre-arranged marriage, ask for divorce, or act in an “unbecoming” manner. In the Punjab and Sindh dialects of Pakistan, kala kali translates to mean, “black female” (Hasina 70). The etymological reference to the color black symbolizes how the Muslim males perceive Muslim women who break the honor code as being colored with dirty sins. Thus, traditionalist Muslims would seek to remove these “black females” from their family by death. Although these Muslim women do not deserve to die, they cannot escape the history of their patriarchal culture.

According to Pakistani tribal leaders, killing the “black female” has historical roots in Islam, considering that certain Quranic passages seem to repress the rights of Muslim women, promote violence against these women, and allow for honor killings (Jones 147). For example, chapter 4:34 of the Quran, demeans Muslim women and plainly states, “those [women] from whom [you] fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them.” According to this passage, if a male Muslim even senses that woman will rebel, the Quran then gives the male Muslim the power to not only reprimand such a woman, but also use violence against her. However, the tribal leaders who use this passage to defend honor killings manipulate the ambiguous term “rebellion” to mean any instance of wrongdoing, disobedience, or promiscuity. It is clear that tribal leaders loosely define “rebellion,” considering that they believe a Muslim woman who elopes and marries for love, instead of partaking in an arranged marriage, should deserve to die.

In a different Quranic verse, it appears that Allah prescribes honor killings: “if any of your women are guilty of lewdness… confine them to houses until death do claim them. Or God ordain for them some (other) way” (The Quran, 4:15). Here, the Pakistani tribal council clings to the vague phrase “some (other) way” to justify honor killings, and show that the Quran sets forth precedent to severely punish or kill Muslim women who commit crude sexual acts. Thus, “lewdness” amounts to death for a Muslim woman. Even though the Quran fails to qualify “lewdness,” tribal leaders have set a low standard for lewd actions, which include any allegation of committing adultery, engaging in flirtatious behavior, or seeking a divorce, for example. Moreover, Chapter 18:65-81 of the Quran seems to further support honor killings. In this narrative, a man with special knowledge murders a youth out of fear that he would disrespect his own parents and shame the family name. Upholding honor is such an important custom in the Islamic tradition that the man with special knowledge was willing to murder an innocent youth to preserve familial honor. So, traditionalist Muslims refer to this verse to show that the Sharia, or Islamic law, clearly espouses honor killings since honor always trumps individual life. When Pakistani Muslim tribal leaders hand select quotes from the Quran, they choose to interpret these quotes either too literally or too loosely, and often take them out of context to further advance their misogynistic agendas. The fact of the matter remains that the Quran never explicitly tells Muslim tribal leaders to burn women with acid, stone pregnant women, or mutilate their dead corpses as punishment for their indiscretions.

On the whole, Pakistani tribal authorities ignore passages in the Quran that contradict the supposed religious justification of honor killings. It is important to remember that chapter 4:93 of the Quran articulates that those who kill a Muslim faithful devotee will be met in Hell to face the wrath and curse of Allah (Hasina 73). Under this principle, if a man killed a faithful Muslim woman on account of committing an indiscretion, then that man would dwell in ignominy till the end of time. Again, the Quran explicitly outlines even greater consequences for murderers or more specifically, honor killers in Chapter 5:32, which says “if anyone kills a person–except for just cause–it would be as if they killed all people.” In stark opposition to the aforementioned Chapter 18:65-81 which glorifies murdering for honor, this passage emphasizes the sinfulness and gravity of murder. In Chapter 25: 68, the Quran references the ramifications for Muslims who murder or “kill lives which Allah has made sacred… [since they] will meet punishment and their penalty on the Day of Judgment.” According to this passage of the Quran, Allah, in fact, considers female life sacred, so it would be a grave sin for a male Muslim to kill, even if he were protecting the honor of his family. In the Quran, the prophet Muhammad depicts Allah as someone who respects women and would not condone violence against them. In particular, the prophet Muhammad’s last sermon instructs Muslims to, “treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers” (Malik 274-275). If Allah affords women with respect in this passage of the Quran, they should not be subjected to such violent deaths at the hands of their family members.

Ultimately, the many interpretations of the Quran create conflict between patriarchal tribal councils and official government authority, each of which uphold different beliefs regarding the sanctity of honor killings. In 2008, the Pakistani government established that “no one had the right nor should they be called to take law into their own hands to take the life of anybody in the name of ghariat (family honor)” (Zia Ullah 29). Even though the official law deemed honor killings to be unconstitutional just eight years ago, a current statistic proves the ineffectiveness of this law. According to researchers at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, an estimated total of 1,005 honor killings occurred in 2014, compared to the 869 cases in 2013 (“State of Human Rights in 2013” 21). The egregious number of honor killings only shows that the tribal jirgas ignore official Pakistani laws and implement their own form of justice unto all.  In spite of the surging number of honor killings, the Pakistani government has not strengthened its laws since 2008. The Pakistani government acknowledges that tribal jirgas neglect the laws of the court system and perpetuate the proliferation of honor killings, because the government gives power to a corrupt, illegitimate justice system.

In 2015, Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid exposed the inequalities of the jirga system as well as the patriarchal tribal customs which promote domestic abuse against Pakistani Muslim women when she produced her documentary, A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness. The documentary follows the Pakistani Muslim, teenage victim and survivor, Saba Qaiser, who was left for dead along the banks of a river with two bullets in her side, all because she eloped with her fiancé. Saba’s uncle and father attempted her honor killing since they thought her actions were dishonorable and warranted a brutal death. However, to their chagrin, Saba endured the attack and shared her story for a national audience, unlike most of the deceased victims of honor killings (Obaid-Chinoy). Obaid’s documentary launched a social movement in Pakistan which increased awareness about the prevalence of honor killings. Furthermore, it created international discourse and caused a public outcry by liberal Pakistanis who sought reform to make honor killings illegal and punish offenders. However, this documentary is only part of the solution to end the rampant spread of honor killings in Pakistan.

In order to dramatically reduce honor killings, the official Pakistani government must tighten their laws and make an addendum to the 2008 statute forbidding honor killings in Pakistan by applying the law to each of its citizens, even the members of tribal society. Second, to ensure that the offenders of honor killings do not circumvent legal consequences, the Pakistani government must specifically declare that whoever intends to cause death or injury to another party, by taking the law into their own hands to kill someone in the name of ghariat, commits a crime against the state and will be subject to punishment; tribal councils must not be exempt from this law. Ultimately, these improved legal measures must pass through the Senate and Parliament to affect change. However, this proposed legislation which condemns honor killings in all parts of Pakistan may not prove to be sufficient in reducing the number of honor killings. So, to ensure that rural tribal villages follow official legal policy, the Pakistani government might benefit from employing progressive imams who travel to rural villages to educate the Muslim youth on the inalienable human rights to which all people, male and female alike, are entitled (“State of Human Rights in 2013” 167). Older members of tribal society may continue to remain wedded to customary practices of discriminating against Muslim women, violently persecuting these women, and then upholding tribal laws condoning honor killings. Thus, some older members of tribal society may be less inclined to adopt newer, more progressive attitudes regarding the treatment of women and the sanctity of honor killings. By having qualified imams deliver homilies about the standards of human behavior as protected by legal rights, the younger members of the tribal society might be more open-minded to new ideas and might even acquire knowledge of a relatively new concept where they learn to treat all people, including women, fairly.

In an ideal world, the Pakistani government would adopt these reforms so that their social policy can supersede the religious beliefs held by the tribal jirgas in order to eliminate honor killings, once and for all. Currently speaking, the tribal authorities in Pakistan interpret the religious texts of the Quran to fit their patriarchal agenda and justify honor killings. If laws against honor killings strengthen, even the  perpetrators under tribal jurisdictions would be culpable for their actions. If these laws become clearer, the presently vague and ambiguous language inherent in Pakistani’s existing laws would disappear, so guilty honor killers would not be able to easily escape justice on account of legal technicalities or loopholes. If education reforms take place, Muslims in Pakistan living under tribal jirgas would learn that women deserve dignity and equality according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is unacceptable for innocent Pakistani Muslim women to continue to suffer and die because of tribal standards; it is equally intolerable for the perpetrators of these honor killings to abscond from justice. In Pakistan, there are far too many Mohammad Asifs that roam freely on streets without facing any legal consequences in light of their grotesque and horrific honor killings. The Mohammad Asifs of the world should be imprisoned for committing femicide and violating Pakistani law. To allow Asif and the many other perpetrators of honor killings to abscond from the Pakistani justice system is to give power to the tribal jirgas, show women as weak and defenseless, endorse femicide, and perpetuate the continuation of honor killings throughout the regions of Pakistan. Ultimately, if Pakistani authorities do not make the law regarding honor killings stricter, the death toll of Pakistani Muslim women will spiral out of control and surpass the 1,005 women who were victims of savage cruelty in 2014 at the hands of Muslim misogynists.

Works Cited:

Doğan, Recep. “Is Honor Killing a ‘Muslim Phenomenon’? Textual Interpretations and Cultural Representations.” Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. 31.3 (2011): 423-440.

Hasina Jamali, Dr. Nasreen Aslam Shah. “The Origin of Honor Killing (Karo-Kari) in Sindh Pakistan.” The Women- Annual Research Journal of Gender Studies. Vol.7 (2015): 60-82.

Jones, Jackie M. Gender, Sexualities and Law. Oxon: Routledge, 2011. Print.

Malik, Saeed. A Perspective on the Signs of Al-Quran: Through the Prism of the Heart. Booksurge: 2010. Print

McCoy, Terrence. “In Pakistan, 1,000 women die in ‘honor killings’ annually. Why is this happening?” Washington Post 28 May 2014: Print.

Obaid-Chinoy, Sharmeen. “This Oscar-Winning Doc Is Getting Pakistan to Reconsider Laws About Killing Daughters” Huffington Post 1 March 2016: Print.

The Qur’an. Trans. by Tarif Khalidi. New York: Viking, 2008. Print.

“State of Human Rights in 2013.” Human Rights Commission of Pakistan March 2014:1-260. Print.

Zia Ullah, Muhammad. “Honour killings in Pakistan under Theoretical, Legal, and Religious perspectives.” MA thesis. Malmo University, 2010.