Pakistan took a positive step forward last Thursday when it passed legislation to increase the penalties for individuals guilty of committing so-called “honor killings.”
Honor killings, the practice of murdering female family members who allegedly brought dishonor upon their family by disobeying them, usually on issues of love or marriage, took the lives of more than 1,000 Pakistani women just last year. Opponents of honor killings believe that far more than 1,000 women are victims of these murders every year and that the practice is underreported.
Prior to the passage of this legislation, families had the ability to “forgive” or pardon individuals who committed honor killings—enabling many murderers to get off scot-free. The new legislation reverses that trend by requiring individuals charged for honor killings to serve a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison.
In instances where the death penalty is issued, families can still forgive the perpetrator of the crime, but the death sentence is commuted to prison time. Proponents of these new legal reforms anticipate that heightened penalties for honor killings will have a deterrent effect.
Honor killings were placed in the spotlight in Pakistan after the release of the Oscar award-winning documentary “A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness,” produced by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy.
The film highlighted the story of a 19-year-old Pakistani woman, Saba Qaiser, who survived an honor killing attempt carried out by her father and uncle. The film caught the attention of Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who took a personal interest in curtailing the practice.
Honor killings in Pakistan continued to gain international attention after the more recent murder of social media star Qandeel Baloch, who was strangled by her brother for bringing what he perceived to be dishonor on their family. Other high-profile murders have also come to light.
The Heritage Foundation hosted a screening of “A Girl in the River” in May, highlighting the need to end the practice of honor killings and reiterating the film’s call “for further legal reform in Pakistan, including outlawing forgiveness by the victim, so that the perpetrators will receive full sentencing as in any other case of murder.”
Negotiations regarding the recently passed legislation began over a year ago and required a process of significant compromise in order to develop language that satisfied all parties—including the more conservative Muslim factions in Pakistan who argue that the notion of forgiveness, even in situations of honor killings, is enshrined in Shariah law.
While the new legislation does not completely eliminate the principle of family forgiveness, it does ensure that all persons who commit an honor killing will receive punishment for their crimes.
Pakistan’s willingness to condemn honor killings as murder represents a positive step forward; one of many taken last week to address the plight of Pakistani women. Pakistan also changed laws regarding rape, designating medical evidence, especially DNA tests, as permissible evidence in court cases regarding rape.
Hopefully, this positive trend on human rights will continue. Pakistan has yet another controversial issue to consider regarding blasphemy laws in the second week of October when the appeal of the death sentence levied against a Christian woman, Aasia Bibi, for alleged blasphemy is slated to come before Pakistan’s Supreme Court.
Pakistan should continue to improve the rights of women and ultimately end the practice of honor killing—this latest legislative action represents a step in the right direction.
