Killing in the name of Honor?
Deaths are inevitable. People die because they cannot over rule death. Yet there
are people who are not given the chance to live. They are killed and the
persecutors are no other than their own kin who are supposed to love them. Such
killings by kinship are growing massive over the years and these are not
restricted to any one culture, region, or country. These are the cases where
mainly females and occasionally males are slayed for honorary reasons. More
emphasis is given to the women who are thought of bringing dishonor to the
family name and are killed to save face in the society.
Honor killings are a psychologically and sociologically complicated phenomenon
where the perpetrators win public sympathy and support rather than being
stigmatized for snatching away an innocent life. This is a common practice among
patrilineal societies and conservative groups who take women as the honor
bearers of the clan and their attitude is scrutinized through a fierce check
over their activities. If it happens so that a lady is found to be endorsing a
romantic relationship with a lad out of the premises of her clan and dignity,
she is logistically slain and her blood is used as a cleanser to the stain of
dishonor.
Honor killing draws its roots from ancient, pre-Islamic pagan Arab societies as
well as from the nomadic tribes who used to travel accompanying all of their
valuables and could risk having them stolen. The fear factor among them inspired
killing of the women who walked on the paths to the regime of shame and were a
threat to tainting the noble reputation of their tribes. However, murders in
name of honor are not solely confined to these lines, as there are evidences of
similar executions among prehistoric Romans and Greece. Also, the literary
characters of Shakespearean creations bore an influence of honor related feuds
among their families.
The entire world including North America, Canada, and Europe serves as a ground
to the murderers for honor with more concentration in Middle East and South
Asia. Incidents of this nature are exceptionally recurrent in India and Pakistan
with the number being comparative among both the reigns. This mainly is for the
reason that both the nations share a lot of their cultures and languages though
they are strikingly different in terms of their ideology and religious beliefs.
According to a survey, more the 1,000 women are killed annually in Pakistan in
the name of honor. Different strategies are adopted for the persecution where
some are attacked with acid, tied and lashed, stoned, while others are simply
gunned down. The severity of the death penalty depends upon the extent to which
the honor is harmed. Surprisingly, the case is altogether different for men who
commit the same crime. In comparison to women who stay at home and are never
given the opportunity to defend themselves, males can easily escape or are
straightaway forgiven for they are not the ones who bear honor tag like women
do. Sometimes the reason for perpetration is far more trivial than the actual
crime that could have been penalized in the regime of men. A girl’s refusal for
an arranged marriage, or she wants to choose her spouse and resists a forced
marriage, or that she does not portray her family’s values and goes for her own
way of life, all end up in her being smashed. Mainly the criminals are close
relatives as a father, brothers, or her uncles with full support of their
family.
Although the religion is described as the main factor inspiring honor killings,
it has nothing to do with true sense of this crime whereas culture does. No
religion be it Hinduism, Christianity, Buddhism or Islam justifies killing of
women in an attempt to save honor and chastity. Taking law into one’s hands and
killing women is prohibited in Islam. In extreme milieu where someone is found
guilty of fornication or adultery, the case should be taken to a court and after
the witness of four men of good character, the accused can be lashed up to 100
times or stoned to death respectively. Since religion is falsely made to be
involved, the ruling against the honor killers must be stiffened and they should
be discouraged for the act instead of giving them support and sympathy.
Honor killing can neither add to the dignity of a family nor does it wash away
the stains left over its face. The world has moved from tribido to libido. The
marriages are no longer settled by the tribes rather the individuals choose
their partners themselves. The extremist approach against those who use their
own rights and suppressing them by taking away their life is a serious crime
against humanity that is nowhere legalized and justified. The forward block of
our society should come ahead and start a countrywide campaign with considerable
media coverage and political backup to bring a transition into societal behavior
and give women their basic rights to life. To maintain a balance in society and
to preserve our religious identity and values, we should move on with a
righteous approach towards life by rectifying all the social evils that have
penetrated and plagued our nation.