Today, I read two newspaper reports with a lot of concern – one in a national daily and the other in another publication – about how Pakistani women continue to suffer from the scourge known to us as honour killing.
The first report revealed gruesome details of the cold-blooded murder of five women in the province of Balochistan, who were actually buried alive. The 'sin' committed by three of them – all aged between 16-18 years – was that they wanted to marry the men of their choice. The two women, the girls' elders, paid the price for protesting against the murders.
The other report was about a woman, who had to spend nine years in prison after her husband accused her of being unfaithful. Her sin was that she wanted a Khula. The woman is now forced to live in a government shelter and will always carry the stigma of the accusation and maybe imprisonment for the rest of her life. But at least she wasn't buried alive.
According to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) credible information was recently received from a remote area of Balochistan that five women were buried alive, allegedly by the younger brother of a provincial minister. However, police have still not arrested the perpetrators after one month of the incident.
The incident of the women who were buried alive took place in a village known as Baba Kot, 80 kilometers away from Usta Mohammad city in Jafferabad district. It is believed that due to the influence of the minister and his brother the incident was not reported in the media.
According to the report, five women - Fatima, wife of Umeed Ali Umrani, Jannat Bibi, wife of Qaiser Khan, Fauzia, daughter of Ata Mohammad Umrani, and two other girls, aged between 16 to 18 years - lost their lives in what was a brutal episode of honour killing.
According to details, the women were about to leave for the civil court so that the three girls could marry the men of their choice. Their decision to get married in court was the result of several days of discussions with the elders of the tribe who refused them permission to marry. The names of two younger girls were not ascertained because of strong control of tribal leaders in the area.
As the news of their plans leaked out, a group of men abducted them at gun point. They were taken in an off-road vehicle to another remote area, Nau Abadi, in the vicinity of Baba Kot. After reaching the deserted area of Nau Abadi, the men took the three younger women out of the jeep and beat them before allegedly opening fire on them. The girls were seriously injured but were miraculously still alive at that moment. They were hurled into a wide ditch and later covered with earth and stones. The two older women - an aunt of Fauzia and the other, the mother of one minor - when protested and tried to stop the burial of the girls who were still alive-further enraged the attackers. They were so angry at the interference that they pushed the elderly women in the ditch along with the injured girls and buried them alive too. After completing the burial, they fired several shots in the air so that no one would come close.
The minors were educated; one was a student of Grade 10 while the other was completing her Intermediate. After one month the police have still not registered the case and that is all that is on records. The rest is all a mystery. Were the murderers apprehended? Were they taken to justice? Will they ever face a court, be it tribunal? All these questions have and it seems will remain unanswered. It was not an isolated incident.
Every year in Pakistan hundreds of women, of all ages and in all parts of the country, are reported killed in the name of honour. Many more cases go unreported. Almost all go unpunished.
Originally, a Baluch and Pashtun tribal custom, honour killings are founded in the twin concepts of honour and of women being a commodity. Women are married off for a ‘bride price’ paid to the father. There is no concept for girls to get married of their own choice and if it is found then, they are killed in the name of honour.
In urban Pakistan, things are a little better though women do not enjoy many rights.
But increasing numbers of Pakistani women are becoming aware of gender inequities as the communications revolution brings mobile phones, satellite television and the internet to the poorest villages. In this country of 167 million people, a key issue is the laws and customs governing sexual conduct that sometimes date back to centuries.
A recent study found that about three times a day somewhere in Pakistan, relatives file complaints with police alleging that a daughter or wife has been "abducted with the intent of illicit sexual relations," one of the laws governing sexual behaviour.
Men are also arrested on adultery charges, but the stigma attached to having an affair is far greater for a woman, and even an accusation can mark her for life.
In 1979, Gen Mohammed Zia-ul-Haq enacted strict laws on rape and adultery. By 2006, under pressure from human and women's rights groups at home and abroad, parliament amended the laws. The most notable change was that women alleging rape were no longer required to provide four male witnesses.
But in many parts of Pakistan, the Law seldom comes in the picture. People there are used to deciding such affairs themselves and the law enforcement agencies almost always look the other way.
If you thought honour-killing is just restricted to Pakistan, think again. I was saddened to see that Muslims, in whichever part of the world they may be, will remain ruthless and cruel when their so-called honour is challenged.
A Pakistani man, Chaudhry Rashid, 54, residing in Georgia, strangled his daughter Sandeela Kanwal, 25, with a bungee cord, at the family’s Utah Drive home in Jonesboro. It is believed that Rashid was angry at his daughter because she wanted to end her arranged marriage. Following a heated exchange, it is alleged that he strangled Kanwal, who had been living in her father’s home since leaving her husband in Chicago several months ago. Rashid’s wife, Gina Rashid, 49, called police just before 2 a.m. on that fateful Sunday and told them she had been awakened and heard screaming in a language she could not understand. Gina Rashid, who is African-American, left the house out of fear and called police from nearby.
After being taken into custody at the scene, Rashid was interviewed regarding his daughter’s death. It is alleged that he killed her because her divorce would bring ‘shame’ to the family.
This killing comes almost exactly after six months of the killing of Sarah and Amina Said by their father, Yaser Said who lived in Dallas, Texas. Amina Said, 18, and her sister Sarah, 17, were shot dead in Irving, Texas, on New Year’s Day. Police are searching for their father, Yaser Abdel Said, on a warrant for capital murder. The girls’ great aunt, Gail Gartrell, told reporters, “This was an honour killing.” She explained that Yaser Said had long abused the girls, and after discovering that they had boyfriends, had threatened to kill them - whereupon their mother fled with them. “She ran with them,” said Gartrell, “because she knew he would carry out the threat.” The investigation into the deaths of the two sisters is on-going and Said has not been apprehended as yet. By following such customs in the name of religion we end up tarnishing the image of Islam.
These spine-chilling incidents leave us wondering when the Muslims will actually become a civilised nation. Till when are we going to live in such a grim scenario?
The authorities will have to take steps to end these inhuman practices which are also condemned by Islam. It was our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) who told Arabs to stop burying their female offspring. Aren't we returning to the same dark era when women were treated like a commodity and male relatives saw them as a source of shame? Is anybody listening?
