MEETING documentary filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy at the Prime Minister House in Islamabad earlier this week, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif termed ‘honour’ killings a ‘stain’ on society. Acknowledging that this was one of the most critical problems facing the country, the prime minister went on to promise that the premiere of Ms Chinoy’s documentary on the subject, A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, will we be held at the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday, Feb 22. Mr Sharif’s observations do raise a question or two. Primarily, did it take a short film — or perhaps the international spotlight on it following its nomination to the Oscars in the relevant category — to bring to the government’s attention the fact that this crime most dishonourable is amongst Pakistan’s most pressing worries? Had the government and its leadership so far remained oblivious to an evil that has for decades invited opprobrium from amongst the more civilised sections of society, and wreaked endless grief amongst countless families and communities? If so, then the fact that the ‘stain’ of ‘honour’ killings has finally been recognised at the top levels of governance can only be welcomed with relief. If it took a while for the administration to cut to the chase, it can only be hoped that now that the issue has been recognised in its full import the resolve to counter it will be of such proportions as to turn the situation around.

Attitudes around ‘honour’ killings have in fact become Pakistan’s dirty little secret. In the headlines, the news around women, equality and choice has in recent years been pledge after pledge by those in positions of power to build bridges of equity and empowerment. In all fairness, the country has indeed managed to pass fairly significant pieces of legislation in this regard. But when it comes to engineering a sea change through awareness-raising and altering hidebound attitudes that are wrongly attributed to notions of culture and tradition, there is often frantic back-pedalling — as though the challenge is far too daunting to take on. Yet the legislative changes required have already been achieved, with there being no leniency any longer for the perpetrators of such acts. Now what is needed is a concerted push to spread awareness about the heinousness of this act, the fact that the law will not tolerate it, and the apprehension and trial of the guilty and their colluders.

Published in Dawn, February 21st, 2016