By Bobby Chacko-
A Pakistani mother of 3 and her cousin have been murdered for having an affair in an honour killing.
Honour killings refer to the homicide, generally of females, who are alleged to have brought shame or dishonour to the family because of a disgraceful violation or code of conduct.
Khalida Bibi is said to have had an affair with her cousin, Mohammed Mukhtar, despite the fact she was married with three children. Sexual affairs, particularly for married people are considered an abomination in India-both culturally and as far as religious beliefs go. The abominable act of such forbidden sexual transgression does not give legitimacy to brutal murders like these, though the pain and embarrassment of infidelity in Indian culture run deep. Cheating is not taken lightly.
Honour killings are all the more repulsive when family members participate in the brutal elimination of their blood. The Pakistani Dunga News report that the woman’s brother, father, and husband, all participated in the killing, after which she was hung on a true following a gruesome spell of torture. The men were arrested after confessing to the murder. Honour killings need to be addressed through enhanced teachings and soul piercing ideologies, in order to train the minds of Indians as a people.
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Perhaps there needs to be a law that punishes cheating severely, to serve as a form of conciliation to those aggrieved once they find out they have been cheated on.
The main problem with such a proposal is that it isn’t always easy to prove cheating has occurred, and may allegations of infidelity often rests on speculation or hearsay, though it must be stated that sources are often accurate but not always. Citizens of Pakistan and all Indian provinces are aware that murder is punishable by law regardless of the rage caused by the violation of expected traditional and religious standards. Unfortunately and tragically, this has not prevented the several numbers of honour killings that bring shame to Indians as a people. Especially when we think of the involvement of family members in the brutal killing of one who has gone astray, we have to ask the question ‘why can’t we find a more civil way to deal with our failings’?
It is a known fact that many women in Pakistan and other Indian provinces often feel treated as second-class citizens, and denied the sort of freedoms permitted in the West. However, not all the freedoms in the West are desirable even to moderate Indians or Pakistani’s of analytical and intellectual persuasions. All reasonable and educated professionals do strongly reject and denounce the need to conduct honour killings, especially against their own family members, just because of an offence committed. It is hoped one day, there will be a way forward away from this kind of barbaric practice.
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