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October 05, 2006
In the name of honour
Honour killing is a phrase to cover up a heinous crime. By involving honour, the whole idea of killing someone is justified, hence giving the perpetrators of the crime the idea that they have committed a noble deed
Throughout history women have fought a difficult battle for their existence. They have been subjected to patriarchal traditions and norms, which have reduced them to mere objects. Pakistani society has also encouraged certain practices and customs which have proven to be a bane for its female population. Women have been butchered for the sake of property, availing their rights to choose a husband, or have simply been victims of their fathers’, brothers’ or husband’s ghairat (honour).
Honour killing is one tool which is often used to victimise women. Recently British Council arranged a three-day conference on Honour Killing: Religious and Traditional Misinterpretations. It was attended by people from all walks of life, and from far flung cities such as Shahdadkot, Multan, Khairpur, Hyderabad and Sukkur.
The three basic objectives of the seminar were: to develop an understanding of what Islam says about honour killings, how the community traditions, the feudal mindset as well as the political system respond to it, and finally what role the state played in this affair.
There were different modes adopted to engage the participants, of which the best feature remained the group discussions. Participants were given a topic after being divided into three groups. Each group was provided with a facilitator who briefed them about the topic under discussion, and in the end the subject was handed over to the participants to ponder over.
From religious scholars to politicians, foreign scholars to media persons, everyone condemned honour killings. Dr Hameeda Khuhro, Minister for Education, Sindh as well as the Chairperson of the Advisory Committee of the Honour Killing Awareness Raising Campaign, highlighted different facts about the issue. She described honour killing as a phrase that was beautifully constructed to cover up a heinous crime like murder. By involving honour, the whole idea of killing someone is justified, hence giving the perpetrators of the crime the idea that they have committed a noble deed.
Zubeida Mustafa, a senior journalist, raised certain questions that echoed the audience’s thoughts; such as “Why is the woman’s sexuality so closely linked with the honour issue?” She also presented some suggestions of curbing, if not completely ending, the menace of honour killing.
The presentations provided participants with new perspectives on the issue. There were some particular topics that stood out amongst the rest, such as How to encourage community based policing?— a lecture delivered by Sanaullah Abassi, AIG Establishment, Police: a friend or foe by Niaz Ahmed Siddiqui, CCPO Karachi and Honour killing and Sufis’ viewpoint presented by Javed Qazi, a local broadcast journalist. A question-answer session followed the presentations.
Apart from the discussions, the literature distributed among the participants is also worth mentioning. There was a small booklet with an intriguing cover and title Hum Hath Nahin Uthain Gae. It was a collection of small stories that sketched out various incidents where there was a dire need of change in the attitudes of people.
Some of the participants also suggested that the management hold such conferences in areas that are affected by this menace, because the people who attend these conferences are mostly those who realise that honour killing has only brought shame to the country, and it is more important to educate those who are not enlightened enough. They also tabled the idea of starting a campaign against it on the grassroots level.
Henrik Ibsen, a famous playwright has said, “A woman cannot be herself in the society of the present day, which is an exclusively masculine society, with laws framed by men and with a judicial system that judges feminine conduct from a masculine point of view.” The conference highlighted many important issues and raised many pertinent points. It remains to be seen how it affects the people who make the rules.
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