Hafsa Rehman

HONOR KILLING

Death is inevitable, we’re all destined to die one day; but for some, death lies in the hands of the ones we call family. Most often being the murder of a female by male family relatives, honor killings are acts of vengeance, usually death, committed by members of a family against a family member due to the belief of the perpetrator that the victim has brought dishonor upon the ménage (the members of the household) . Thus, in order to ‘purify’ the family name and prestige, they selfishly murder their own flesh and blood. It is often also referred to as ‘femicide’ since women represent the highest percentage of fatalities in this practice. Honor killing is especially prevalent in the Southern parts of Asia – Pakistan and India, and the Middle East , where women are at a great social and institutional disadvantage. In these societies this ferocious act is not viewed as murder; rather it is dressed up with a more refined and polished label: ‘honor killing’.