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June 9, 2002
REVIEWS: In the name of honour
Ironically the book Don’t let them get away with murder comes at a time when the news of Zafaran Bibi languishing in jail with her child for allegedly committing adultery, punishable by stoning to death, makes for news in the inner pages of our national newspapers.
It should come as no shock when the introduction of the booklet says: “According to government statistics, in Sindh alone, at least one woman is killed every day in a crime justified by reasons of honour.” It goes on to add that at a recent seminar the Inspector General of Police, Sindh, acknowledged that in the year 2000, the murder of nearly 1000 women (based on reported cases only) in Pakistan, out of a global figure of 5000, was classified as honour killing.
The government officials hope to reduce Pakistan’s isolation abroad and increase domestic awareness of this ancient practice, sanctioned by culture rather than religion. General Pervez Musharraf is reported to have condemned the practice —”killing in the name of honour is murder, and it will be treated as such”. Human rights organizations come up with one investigative report after another, yet the repressive practice goes on unabated.
Going by official data, ‘honour killing’ appears to be on the rise. What is worse, the murderers are rarely brought to justice. And this is where the book can prove to be of help. “It aims to break the cycle of impunity in cases of honour killings by clarifying common misperceptions about the law and by providing information on some basic aspects of the law and the operation of the legal machinery in Pakistan as it relates to murder.”
Does the law acknowledge the plea of honour ghairat, as acceptable ground for killing? Does the law have any built-in trap doors to allow the guilty to escape full and proper punishment for their crimes? What is the recent stance of the Supreme Court in this context? What major changes have been introduced through Qisas and Diyat laws? What is a Razinama? All these have been answered under the ambit of law.
In a way this is a very informative six-chapter booklet, written in simple lucid English in a reader-friendly format. It should also be translated into not just Urdu but all regional languages. There is an attempt to make the reader familiar with the law and the book introduces basic concepts such as the FIR, a complaint, a challan, the kind of information recorded in the FIR, when the police makes an arrest and what happens in cases where the offenders themselves appear before the SHO and confess to their crime.
Don’t let them get away with murder
By Hassam Qadir Shah,
edited by Nabila Malick Shirkat Gah Women’s Resource Centre, Lahore.
Email: sgah@lhr.comsats.net.pk
52pp. Price not stated
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