LARKANA: Women representing diverse schools of thought, leaders of political and social organisations, students and lawyers staged a protest rally in Larkana against the rampant killing of women under the pretext of karo-kari (accusations of extramarital relationships) in Sindh, harassment of women in various settings and the jirga (local court) system under feudal lords.
The rally commenced from Begum Nusrat Bhutto Government Girls College and passed through various roads and streets of the city before culminating at the local press club, where participants carrying banners and placards raised slogans.
The women rights activists who led the rally included Samina Abro of the Women Action Forum, Gomi Bai Ladies Club president Dr Sakina Gaad, Citizens Alliance president Niaz Abro, Benazir Jatoi, Nayab Sarkash Sindhi, Shams-un-Nisa Solangi and Reshman Dahari.
Advocate Sattar Hulio, Nisar Mugheri, Mushtaq Tunio, Qadir Domki, Ali Muhammad Abro, Shahbaz Bhutto of the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Rabita Committee, Lala Sarhiyo and others also joined in the rally.
The women leaders held that the land of Sindh has always taught the lesson of peace and brotherhood, leaving no room for the dark customs of karo-kari and other regressive traditions.
“Despite this, a new trend of killing in the name of honour is spreading across Sindh,” the speakers said. “Honour does not mean the killing of an innocent woman. True honour lies in respecting and valuing our daughters.”
The speakers lamented that women are being slaughtered like animals in the name of honour. They pointed out a deeply troubling pattern: if a man has a land dispute with another man or gets into a fight at a hotel, he returns home and accuses his own daughter or female relative of dishonour and has her killed.
The protest leaders also strongly condemned the harassment of women in educational institutions, at workplaces and public spaces, demanding that women who constitute half of the world’s population be granted equal rights.
The speakers highlighted recent incidents in various cities of Sindh, including the killings of Khalida Chandio, Gulan Bharo and several other women, whose murders were labelled as karo-kari cases.
They also condemned the practice of jirgas issuing verdicts to give women away as sang-chatti (settlement through women) or branding them as kari (dishonoured) to justify their killing, making Sindh a dangerous place for women.
The protesters demanded that those responsible for such incidents be arrested, that women be granted the same right to life as men, and that the jirga system be abolished immediately.
Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2026
