Watched the documentary last night and it was heart wrenching.
Program Details Against My Will
Length: 01:00 Type of program: Documentary
Broadcast Times
Friday, August 27 9:00 PM
Saturday, August 28 3:00 AM
Saturday, August 28 9:00 AM
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In Pakistan, many women who decide to leave abusive marriages are signing their own death warrants. They risk being disfigured or murdered by men who believe it is the only way to restore honor to the family. Authorities in Pakistan rarely respond to reports of honor killing. The Human Rights Commission Pakistan and the Women Action Forum estimate that 1000 women are murdered each year, with little or no response from the government.
At the Dastak women’s shelter in Lahore, women accused of tarnishing the family honor find a safe haven. Here, in this tidy building with a well-kept lawn, they live in safety, receiving both counseling and legal advice. Kubra is one such woman. After enduring repeated beatings, the 28-year-old fled to Dastak. We meet Kubra - armed guard in tow - on her way to a meeting with members of her family. They entreat her to return. Eventually, she agrees. Three weeks later, she is murdered, shot to death in her sleep. Through Kubra’s story, and the stories of other women at Dastak, the film creates a portrait of one institution that is protecting Pakistani women, at least the women who can make it there.
So concept of honor killing is beautiful! These ppl think they have the right to kill because Islam allows them to, and Islam does allow a husband to kill his wife. That is if you decide to read it with both eyes closed and brains switched off. Unfortunately too many of our ppl don't feel the need to understand the teachings.
I watched this documentary or perhaps one that is similar sometime back. It is heart wrenching but also very infuriating.
This kind of behaviour stems from the mindset of "honour above all" and though in some cases that might be a healthy principle, in a male-dominated and ego-skewed society it can wreak havoc.
Shino, unless you plan to give up your Dutchness and move across the Atlantic, you can only watch it if you buy it on a Cassette or DVD from the Link website. Just for you, here is the gist of the story:
Kubra was married off to a family in the same village with someone who was part of her baradry but her husband was not her first cousin. She suffered constant domestic abuse, of which she complained to her parents, who always turned a blind eye. After a few years of torment she left and went to Dastak office.
Her parents pursued her and begged her to come home, with other relatives by their side. Her father put his turban in her feet to emotionally blackmail her. She argued that she pleaded her case in front of them while she was still with her in-laws but no one noticed, why is it that now when she had already taken matters into her own hands, had they come to console her? They gave her assurances that nothing would be done to her, pointing out that her fears of honor killing are obscure as she doesn’t even have a brother. Eventually she gave up and went back with them to her home.
Within a few weeks or so she was murdered, shot at close range while she slept. In the FIR the father named the murderer as her cousin and everyone in the family supported that accusation. But when the case went to the court, the father dropped the charges citing that he wasn’t “sure” if it was the cousin or not. The documentary shows other women of Dastak alleging that a secret deal was made within the family and the murder was planned. Even if father wasn’t involved, they hushed him in the name of ‘honor’ with possibly giving him some blood money.
And if you think this is the worst part, you are mistaken. When the Dastak people tried to purse to case on their own, Newspapers start publishing stories about Kubra that she was killed by her lover with whom she wanted to run away in the first place. The clipping were from the so-called respectable newspapers like Jhang & Nawaywaqat and when read seem to suggest that it was justified to kill Kubra.