Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reports 675 honor killing victims in the country

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reports 675 honor killing victims in the country

Islamabad (December 20), As per the stats released by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, over 675 women in Pakistan were murdered for allegedly defaming the honours of their families.

Despite some progress on better protecting women’s rights, activists say the government needs to do far more to prosecute murderers in cases largely dismissed by police as private, family affairs.

“A total of 675 women and girls were killed in the name of honour across Pakistan from January to September,” a senior official in the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan told reporters.

They included at least 71 victims under the age of 18.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is unauthorised to speak to the media, said figures were still being compiled from October to December, and that a full report would be released in February.

The Commission reported 791 honour killings in 2010 and there was no discernible decrease this year, the official added.

Around 450 of the women killed from January to September were accused of having “illicit relations” and 129 of marrying without permission.

Some victims were raped or gangraped before being killed, he said. At least 19 were killed by their sons, 49 by their fathers and 169 by their husbands.

Rights groups say the government should do more to ensure that women subject to violence, harassment and discrimination have effective access to justice.

Ali Dayan Hasan, Pakistan director at Human Rights Watch, told the media that the state’s inability to enforce rule of law, leaving matters in the hands of tribesmen and local elders, was a major factor.

“We have a system in Pakistan where the state and judicial recourse are absent and the vacuum is filled by local elders,” he said.

“A combination of legal reforms, exercise of administrative authority and social awareness can greatly help check the honour killings,” he added.

Despite consistent efforts made by the human rights activists, the human rights situation in Pakistan is grim. And it is expected to remain so unless society itself chooses to play an active role for the cure of the problem.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=6732

Posted by Fayyaz Yaseen on Dec 20 2011. Filed under Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry