On a hot June afternoon in a small village near Sialkot, Punjab, 17-year-old Muafia Bibi and her husband Sajjad were dragged from their home, tied up and viciously slaughtered in broad daylight by Muafia Bibi's relatives. Villagers gathered and looked on as the couple were hacked to death. Barely married for a week, the crime warranting such a harsh punishment was that they had chosen to elope against the wishes of Muafia Bibi's parents, thus bringing 'dishonour' to the family. The perpetrators, which included Muafia's father and grandfather, were subsequently arrested, but not before they proudly declared their lack of remorse, stating that they had killed their daughter to show other women of the community "what would happen to them if they married someone of their own choice". The brutality of the murders shocked human rights activists, lawyers, politicians and civil society actors across Pakistan, particularly as it came on the heels of another vicious honour killing.
In May 2014, a pregnant woman, Farzana Parveen, was stoned to death outside the Lahore High Court, also for marrying against the wishes of her family. Lawyers and local police stood by and watched as her father and brothers pelted her with bricks, killing her. Five men, including Farzana's father, were later charged with her murder. "I killed my daughter as she had insulted all of our family by marrying a man without our consent, and I have no regret over it," her father told police, adding that it had been an "honour killing".
While both cases attracted local and international media attention there are countless others which go unreported and unnoticed, written off as 'suicides' or 'domestic accidents'. According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), in 2013 alone there were 869 killings carried out in the name of 'honour'. But it is assumed that the actual number is much higher. Given that family members carry out or give consent for most of these killings, many go unreported. Of reported cases too, many remain unpunished. Although Pakistan has put in place legal provisions to prosecute honour crimes, loopholes in the prevailing legislation, problems with implementation and enforcement, and a patriarchal social context that deems such acts acceptable, have contributed to a culture of impunity allowing the perpetrators to literally get away with murder.
The notion of 'honour'
Regarded as a cultural/familial form of violence, honour crimes primarily occur in a patriarchal context where the notion of 'honour' is tied up with female family members. In such a setting, women and their bodies become repositories of family honour, and also by extension, come to represent the 'reputation' which the family – particularly its male members – enjoys within the larger community and society. Regulating and policing female behaviour and sexuality is paramount in this social order so as to ensure that it does not bring shame to the family in any way. Thus, honour crimes are usually carried out by men against female family members who are deemed to have engaged in actual or perceived 'immoral behaviour'. Such behaviour ranges from engaging in extramarital or premarital sex, going against the family's wishes to marry, running away from home, seeking a divorce or remarriage or having an 'illicit' relationship. 'Immorality', however, is not restricted or determined solely by sexual conduct, but goes beyond to encompass any behaviour which challenges male control over female family members. In some cases, even the hint of a transgression, for instance having a conversation with a strange man, is enough to warrant punishment. In others, honour crimes are used as a guise for financial and material exchanges carried out to settle family disputes or tribal feuds, to gain control of wealth and property, or to acquire a large dowry.