from Dawn
Violence against women
THE disclosure by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan on Thursday that there has been a significant increase in violence against women in and around the
Lahore region in the first eleven months of 1999, is cause for serious concern. In its report entitled the "Dimensions of Violence," the HRCP reveals that 266 women
were murdered during the period in so-called honour killings, while 163 died in "stove burst" incidents in which women are often burnt alive for a variety of reasons,
including dowry-related disputes, and are shown to be victims of unexplained stove explosions. What is equally chilling is the fact that 15% of those killed were young
girls, mostly newly married in the case of the stove deaths, and their murderers were close family members, mostly brothers or husbands. What is more disturbing is
the fact that out of this number, no more than 35 persons have been arrested by the police for these fatalities and in a quarter of the cases, no FIR was registered after
the murder of the women.
Honour killings and stove-burst deaths are not restricted to Lahore, or for that matter, to Punjab, alone. Between October 1998 and September 1999, 595 people in
Sindh were murdered in honour killings alone. The killing of women over domestic issues, a tradition that illustrates how primitive a large part of our society is,
encompasses all of Pakistan. With a government that has publicly stated that it will work progressively to promote and protect the rights of women, this is no more an
issue that can be swept under the carpet as has been done by successive governments. As things stand, it has become our abiding national shame and embarrassment.
According to the HRCP, hundreds of men and women, mostly the latter, are killed each year in blind pursuit of a primitive notion of honour and other such horrific
customs and practices. A sizable number of these killings go unreported and thus accurate figures are still not available for these. As other countries strive to better
their record on human rights, Pakistan seems to be moving backwards by condoning cold-blooded murders in the name of honour and, at the same time, being overly
sensitive to international criticism of the inhuman practice. The practice is in total violation of basic human rights and is not at all part of the teachings of Islam, as some
of its perpetrators would have us believe. What is tragic is that despite the seriousness of the issue, the victims usually find no help from either the police or the
so-called enlightened section of society which looks the other way or pleads helplessness as people are killed with amazing regularity in the name of tradition and their
killers are allowed to go scot free. Last year's high-profile Samia Sarwar case, where the lady was killed on instructions of her parents in the name of honour for
demanding a divorce from her husband, continues to be ignored by the government. Samia's parents and those involved in her murder have not been apprehended, let
alone punished for their crime. The issue of so-called honour has only brought a bad name to Pakistan and Islam in the eyes of the world.
For its part, the government is more alive to the criticism that comes from all over the world than with the number and frequency, or the sheer inhumanity, of such
killings. Government officials continue to insist that this practice is not as widespread as is projected or claimed and that organizations like the HRCP are pursuing a
'foreign agenda' by highlighting this problem. This only worsens the situation. As things stand, honour killings and murders over dowry are frightfully on the increase
and the tribal jirgas continue to support and justify these murders, with women being the victims in most cases. The killers are lionized as brave upholders of a "sacred"
custom and this only illustrates how badly we have regressed as a nation and society in acquiescing in this and many other brutal and barbaric customs and traditions.
Pakistan's international standing has taken a severe battering because of this issue. The European Union, Amnesty International and various other organizations have
strongly condemned these and have demanded that the government take a more active interest in trying to check the practice. As usual, there is no response from the
government side. With a military-led government now in place, which has very few political compulsions and constraints of an elected regime, it is time that this issue
was recognized for what it is and at least some initiative was taken to discourage violence against women. Unless this is done, hundreds of people will continue to die
for no fault of theirs - only to satisfy the false sense of honour of some practitioners of tribal and feudal values whose actions have brought disgrace to the country.