04 November 2004	Thursday	20 Ramazan 1425

PESHAWAR, Nov 3: Participants in a workshop here called for formulating laws keeping in view the local situation for raising people's awareness about the importance of stopping honour killings in the country.

"We are launching an 11-year-programme entitled 'We Can' in all the provinces to sensitize the people about the gruesome killings taking place in the garb of honour killings, especially in remote areas," said Farhana Faruqi Stocker, representative of an international NGO, Oxfam, here on Tuesday.

The districts of Mardan, Buner, Swat, Swabi, Charsadda and Nowshera, where most cases of honour killings were reported, had been identified for the programme, the Oxfam representative said.

She said the programme would be implemented with the help of other social organizations to change people's attitude towards honour killings.

The Oxfam representative said they were striving to educate people about the matters that prompt honour killings.

She said that the organization was eliciting support at the grassroots level to stop the menace that was threatening the very fabric of society.

Oxfam would hold theatre shows and poster competitions with the underlying theme that there was no justification for honour killings, Mrs Stocker said.

"I know it has assumed the shape of a socially approved behaviour in society at large. It is even prevalent in the US, the UK and other developed countries," she said.

Dr Arif Mehmood, campaign manager of Oxfam, pointed out the social barriers blocking the move to change behaviour towards certain matters.