Honor killing a scourge on Indian society
Tradition still trumps love of family members
A file photo showing the women and children of a typical Haryana village
- Ritu Sharma, New Delhi
- India
- June 21, 2012
Mohammad Burhan Shaikhon says he burned his daughter alive in Gujarat on Tuesday to save his family’s honor.
Her crime was to try to elope last week with the boy she loved.
However, Shaikh managed to coax her back to Surat district in the western Indian state and promptly set her on fire before surrendering to police.
Elsewhere, a man beheaded his 20-year-old married daughter on Monday for having relations with other men in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan.
After decapitating his daughter with a sword, Ogad Singh paraded her head around the village of Dungerji Ka Guda in Rajasamand district before surrendering to police.
These shocking incidents show that caste considerations and social status still far outweigh parental love.
“Nothing much can be done in such cases as law enforcement agencies are not giving the kind of attention such gory incidents need,” said Jyotsana Chatterjee, a Delhi-based women’s rights activist.
Chatterjee, who is the director of a feminist group called the Joint Women’s Programme, said there are still officials in the police department who believe that the tradition and culture of a family needs to be protected and maintained.
This is because they were born and brought up in such a family structure, she said.
Chatterjee lamented the fact that the country has the laws to deal with these horrific crimes, but people are unaware of the punishments they carry and police lack the training to implement them.
An honor killing is the murder of a family member by other relatives who believe the victim has brought shame and dishonor upon the family or community.
This scourge is most common in the northern Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
According to the Punjab police, 34 honor killings were recorded in the state between 2008 and 2010.
In Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, Khap panchayats (village councils) decide the fate of girls or boys who wish to marry or love someone outside their caste or religion. In these states, such killings take place mainly in upper caste society.
In a landmark judgment in 2010, a district court in Haryana sentenced five people to death for their part in two honor killings. They had ordered the killing of a couple who eloped and married in June 2007.
Despite having police protection, they were abducted and their mutilated bodies were found a week later in an irrigation canal.
Chatterjee says few people committing honor killings have been punished because a patriarchal mindset and the strength of tradition and culture have not been challenged until now.
Ranjana Kumari, who directs a center that helps women and girls in New Delhi, said those accused of the killings have the silent approval of the family and fellow villagers.
“No one stands witness against these murderers,” she said.
Such killings not only occur in rural areas, they often happen in affluent areas of cities.
“An honor killing is the most extreme way of punishing a girl in cities. Parents first stop the girl’s education, send her to some relative’s place or stop giving her money to show their disapproval,” Kumari added.
She said the police need to invest greater time and effort to put a stop to these horrendous crimes in the future.
Related reports
State to probe honor killing remarks
Her crime was to try to elope last week with the boy she loved.
However, Shaikh managed to coax her back to Surat district in the western Indian state and promptly set her on fire before surrendering to police.
Elsewhere, a man beheaded his 20-year-old married daughter on Monday for having relations with other men in the northern Indian state of Rajasthan.
After decapitating his daughter with a sword, Ogad Singh paraded her head around the village of Dungerji Ka Guda in Rajasamand district before surrendering to police.
These shocking incidents show that caste considerations and social status still far outweigh parental love.
“Nothing much can be done in such cases as law enforcement agencies are not giving the kind of attention such gory incidents need,” said Jyotsana Chatterjee, a Delhi-based women’s rights activist.
Chatterjee, who is the director of a feminist group called the Joint Women’s Programme, said there are still officials in the police department who believe that the tradition and culture of a family needs to be protected and maintained.
This is because they were born and brought up in such a family structure, she said.
Chatterjee lamented the fact that the country has the laws to deal with these horrific crimes, but people are unaware of the punishments they carry and police lack the training to implement them.
An honor killing is the murder of a family member by other relatives who believe the victim has brought shame and dishonor upon the family or community.
This scourge is most common in the northern Indian states of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
According to the Punjab police, 34 honor killings were recorded in the state between 2008 and 2010.
In Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, Khap panchayats (village councils) decide the fate of girls or boys who wish to marry or love someone outside their caste or religion. In these states, such killings take place mainly in upper caste society.
In a landmark judgment in 2010, a district court in Haryana sentenced five people to death for their part in two honor killings. They had ordered the killing of a couple who eloped and married in June 2007.
Despite having police protection, they were abducted and their mutilated bodies were found a week later in an irrigation canal.
Chatterjee says few people committing honor killings have been punished because a patriarchal mindset and the strength of tradition and culture have not been challenged until now.
Ranjana Kumari, who directs a center that helps women and girls in New Delhi, said those accused of the killings have the silent approval of the family and fellow villagers.
“No one stands witness against these murderers,” she said.
Such killings not only occur in rural areas, they often happen in affluent areas of cities.
“An honor killing is the most extreme way of punishing a girl in cities. Parents first stop the girl’s education, send her to some relative’s place or stop giving her money to show their disapproval,” Kumari added.
She said the police need to invest greater time and effort to put a stop to these horrendous crimes in the future.
Related reports
State to probe honor killing remarks
