The practice of honor killing in Pakistani society is a symbol of injustice with half of the society which consists of women. Honor killing has become a disease for a society that affects the status of women. However, Women’s empowerment plays an important role in the prosperity of society. Honor killing is the old concept of traditional mindset people which started to be promoted by the feudalism system of Sindhi society. Women are discriminated against in our society due to the lack of education and awareness. In a patriarchal society, only males have the power to decide the fate of their women.
Honor killings can be defined as a form of intra-family violence, in which women are killed by their male family members (usually fathers, brothers, or husbands) because they are suspected of having defiled the family’s honor. Women are perceived as the repositories of the man’s or family’s honor, and as such, they must guard their virginity and chastity. The United Nations has condemned the increasing number of honor killings because it violate human rights in society. Honor killing is a cruel factor in our society. Several women are killed by their families but their murders are called honor killings for violating the so-called norms of a conservative society. In Pakistan, women face numerous issues such as social, economic, political, and status in rural areas of Pakistan. Karo-Kari is the name of honor killing that is used in Sindh, Balochistan, and other provinces of Pakistan. Many years ago, this concept of honor killing came to Pakistan from central Asia, Iran, and Afghanistan but it encountered Sindh when numerous Baloch tribes migrated to Sindh. Honor has become a societal problem that was created by authoritarianism. In traditionally followed society, people always promote a man’s honor in the family and also give value to the male’s decisions. Women in the oppressed system tolerate the brutal behaviour of men. Moreover, they did not disagree with the male because that behavior brought more strictness for them but in this system, many families try to sustain that type of control. It also happens in Muslim countries like Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey. According to World Wide agencies from 2008 to 2017, 39 cases were recorded in Turkey from them 36 were female and 3 were male. Generally, the thought of the culprit while sinning murder is to maintain their family’s respect in society that is why they killed women in the name of honor.
In the patriarchal system, male is considered more powerful and women as a weak gender of society. Pakistani society is a male-dominated society and women are facing many issues such as economic, political, domestic violence, and social. In the dominancy of males, women could not show their desire or change the decisions of males. Women in this society are oppressed and silenced, facing deadly consequences if they demand their rights, as ‘honor’ is warped to justify violence and murder. Additionally, Women are bound in their homes due to the dominancy of male and traditional customs. They could not get education from different cities of Pakistan even the women of rural areas of Sindh could not go from one district to another for job purposes or education purposes. They cannot disobey the order of the family even in marriage, they will be not asked for their choice. So the patriarchal mindset destroyed the rights of women in Sindhi society and bound her to staying home.
Women are surviving their lives under the pressure of society, family, anxiety, and depression due to the abusive behaviour of people. People think of women as a burden so they must educate their girls so they can become financially independent. These innocent girls are dependent on their males due to the lack of education and jobs. In Pakistani society, these kinds of traditional customs are strengthened by the feudal/ only to maintain their dominance over the people. It is the failure of our state machinery that they are dependent on a system where a woman is part of an oppressed class. Limited female education, a rigid honour code, and lack of awareness combine to perpetuate harmful practices like honour killings, entrenching gender-based violence and discrimination. The system of Pakistani politics is controlled by the feudal/local elites. These laws and policies are given by these feudal elites and their implementation is not implemented properly by institutions such as police and judiciary remain in their hands.
