Honour killings or Punishment Murders?

Honour is self righteousness, integrity and nobleness .It is a wonder why this noble word should be associated with killing .Honour killings, indeed! What is honour killing? It is a punishment murder committed by family members against women or children to uphold the supposed family’s or community’s honour. This custom of honour killings was started in primitive societies when women were not allowed to be conquered by invaders.

No religion advocates honour killing or for that matter any killing. In honour killings there is no remorse or regret but only jubilation. Reasons for honour killings usually are, refusing to an arranged marriage, marital infidelity, pre-marital sex, flirting, innocent rape victims and of course seeking divorce even from an abusive husband. These murders frequently go unreported, the perpetrators unpunished and the concept of family honour justified. In many cases, the women are buried in unmarked graves and all records of their existence are wiped out.

There was this heartrending news of a woman called Leila Hussein who told The Observer the chilling story of how her husband had killed their 17-year-old daughter over her friendship with a British soldier in Basra. Then Leila too was murdered ,gunned down in cold blood because she dared to denounce and divorce her husband - the man she witnessed suffocate, stamp on, then stab their young daughter in a brutal “honour” killing for which he has shown no repentance. She had lived the last few weeks of her life in absolute terror moving constantly from one safe house to another. It was the price she had to pay for dishonour.

Closer to home , we see hundreds of stories of honour killings like the recent Nitesh Katara murder by Vikas, son of a UP politician and his cousin Vishal .It was described as "honour killing" by the accused as they did not like their sister having an affair with a boy of different caste .

In India, more than 5,000 brides are killed annually because of considered insufficient marriage dowries. Dowry deaths and honour killings have similar motives in that the women are killed by male family members and sometimes abetted by women of the family. Only in very rare cases , honour killing relates to killing of both males and females in cultures that practice it. These killings target women and men who choose to have relationships outside of their family's religious community or caste.

Because of strict law enforcements for murder, honour suicides are becoming quite rampart .The woman is ordered or pressurized to kill herself , so that the people escape the penalties for murder. Honour killings are sometimes disguised as a suicide or an accident too. The teenage brothers of victims are also frequently utilised to commit the murder because, as minors, if there is legal action, they would be sentenced only for a very short term. In Jordan, if a woman is afraid of her life and feels threatened, she can check herself into the local prison, but unfortunately she can't check herself out, and the only person who can get her out is a male relative, who is most often the person who poses the threat. In Haryana , after an honour killing, the villagers claimed that it was the act of “real men."

The recent gruesome murder of teen Aarushi Talwar which shocked the nation was also termed as honour killing. Honour killing shouldn't happen in a family where both parents are doctors.Clearly there is no honour in killing and furthermore it is the ultimate betrayal of parent to kill a child. One hardly hears about men being killed for honour .Young men are allowed to carry on an exciting lifestyle - socialising, drinking and womanising. Upholding the family and community’s honour seems to be the duty of women.

In the western countries where “Crimes of passion”, are treated in quite a lenient manner, they are the same thing but with a different name. The sentencing is based not on the crime, but on the feelings of the perpetrator. "Crime of passion" and "honour killing" is about the perspective of the perpetrator.

"Honour crimes" are a recognized form of violence against women in the International Human Rights law. It states that honour crimes violates women’s rights to life, freedom from torture and cruelty, inhuman, and degrading treatment, and the right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law. Human Rights organisation reported a case, where the husband murdered his wife based on a dream that she had betrayed him. In Turkey, a young woman's throat was slit in the town square because a love ballad had been dedicated to her over the radio

Honour killing is just killing for vengeance, revenge for adultery, revenge for rebellion in youth, revenge for disobedience. It just boils down to power, power over women and children. We do have to live a life of honour, integrity and self righteousness .But by killing for honour has the murderer done anything honourable in the eyes of the Maker?

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