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Cultural
Cruelties: Confronting honour killings
The
Pakistan government bulldozed the Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill
2004 against “honour killings” in the National Assembly and adopted
it on 26 October 2004 without any debate amidst opposition walkout.
While the Bill has for the first time officially acknowledged the
existence of this barbaric practice of honour killings, it is far
from addressing the real issue of impunity which encourages the
practice. Just when the bill was being presented in the National
Assembly, enraged villagers in the hinterland of rural Punjab tied
two persons to the railway track for marrying against the will of
the family elders and were crushed under the wheels of a speeding
train.
Hundreds of women are killed every year for alleged
misdemeanours such as adultery, marrying without the family's consent,
pre-marital sex or having been raped. According to the Adviser
to the Prime Minister on Women Development, Ms Neelofar Bakhtiar,
as many as 913 women had been killed in 'honour- related crimes'
in the country during the year 2003 with 638 cases of honour crime
committed in Sindh, 463 in Punjab, 120 in the North West Frontier
Province and 40 in Balochistan. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
recorded honour killings of 329 women in 1998, 303 women in 1999,
315 women in 2000, 227 women in 2002 and 290 women in 2002 based
on the press reports. But many incidents are not reported in the
newspapers and the vast majority of the victims come from rural
areas.
Criminal
Law Amendment Act, 2004 and its provisions:
The
statement of objects and reasons of the Bill states that the "issue
of honour-killing and other honour crimes committed in the name
of 'karo-kari, siyah-kari and similar other customs has always been
a matter of concern of human rights organizations and the public
which has assumed more significance in the recent years".
The
Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2004 which proposes amendments of the
Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), 1860 enhances punishment for the offence
of murders carried out in the name of honour.
However, the word 'honour killing' has been replaced with
'honour crime' to make it mild and acceptable to various sections
of the society.
Under
amended Section 299, Act XLY of 1860 PPC, 'honour crime' will mean
an offence committed in the name of 'Ghairat' or honour or for "vindication
of Ghairat or honour and includes honour killing and the offence
committed on the pretext of karo-kari, siyah-kari or similar other
customs". In clause 'm' it seeks to add at the end the
words 'other than the person who has murdered the victim'.
Under
amended section 302, Act XLY of 1860, honour crimes carry a maximum
imprisonment of 25 years and not less than 10 years for the offence. Amended Sections 310 and 331 of the PPC prohibit
giving a girl in marriage as 'badla-i-sullah' and any offence under
these sections carries maximum punishment of 14 years imprisonment
and a minimum of not less than seven years of imprisonment.
Amendment
to section 324 seeks to include the hurting of a victim as an honour
crime. Similarly 'Ta'zir'
shall not be less than one-third of the maximum imprisonment provided
for the hurt caused and shall not be less than half of such imprisonment
term if the hurt caused relates to honour crime.
The
Bill further provides that for investigation of an offence under
section 295-C of PPC for blasphemy, no officer below the rank of
superintendent of police (SP) will be eligible. An amendment
to section 56B envisaged that no police officer below the rank of
Superintendent of Police shall investigate the case of a woman accused
of the offence of adultery.
Qisas
and Diyat Law prevails:
The
Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2004 against 'honour killings', however,
did not address the real issue of waiver or compounding in which
the perpetrators were given the advantage of seeking forgiveness
from the heir of the victim. The major flaw in the Qisas and Diyat
law, which covers all offences against the human body, is that it
makes such offenses compoundable (open to compromise as a private
matter between two parties) by providing for qisas (retribution)
or diyat (blood-money). The heirs of the victim can forgive the
murderer in the name of God without receiving any compensation or
diyat (Section 309), or compromise after receiving diyat (Section
310).
Most
honour killings are usually committed by close relatives - father,
brother, son, or husband of the woman. According to the Human Rights
Commission of Pakistan, the persons accused of honour killings between
1998 and 2002 involved 462 persons who were brothers, 395 persons
who were husbands, 217 persons who were relatives, 103 persons who
were fathers, 60 persons who were involved, 58 persons who were
sons and 44 unknown persons. Often, the victims are the most vulnerable
members of the family or community. In either case, if and when
the case reaches a court of law, the victim's family may 'pardon'
the murderer (who may well be one of them), or be pressurised to
accept diyat ('blood-money') as compensation. The murderer then
goes free. Impunity has
been the single most important factor encouraging honour killings.
As the Criminal Law Amendment Bill does not address the issue of
waiving and compounding, the perpetrators will continue to be able
to escape punishment.
The
Supreme Court of Pakistan in various judgements reiterated that
"Neither the law of the land nor religion permits so-called
'honour' killings and it amounts to intentional murder ('qatl-i-amd')"
noting that "such iniquitous and vile" acts violate the
fundamental rights as enshrined in Article 9 of the Pakistan Constitution
which provides that no person shall be deprived of life or liberty
except in accordance with law". Article 8 of the Constitution
of Pakistan provides that “Any law, or any custom or usage
having the force of law, in so far as it is inconsistent with the
rights conferred by this Chapter (Fundamental Rights), shall, to
the extent of such inconsistency, be void”. The failure to uphold
the right to life guaranteed under the Constitution is at the heart
of the crisis, not lack of provisions in the Pakistan Penal Code
to combat honour killings. Unless the Senate takes measures to amend
the Criminal Law Amendment Bill 2004 to ensure that State takes
the responsibility for registering, investigating and prosecuting
the accused of honour killings without any scope for waiver or compounding
under the Qisas and Diyat law, cosmetic gesture is unlikely to be
able to curb cultural cruelties.
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