The current year has seen an alarming surge in ‘karo-kari’ or ‘honour killing’ cases in Sindh, symbolising the deteriorating condition of law, gender equality, regressive cultural norms and state responsibility in the province. This year, 142 people have been killed under such pretexts, with a large majority of victims – 105 – being women. Many of these perpetrators are family members, including husbands, brothers and even fathers and sons.
While crimes may stem from varying motives, honour killings distinctly reflect the societal expectation that women bear the burden of family honour and shame. They stand against ideas of agency and autonomy over one’s own life, instead prioritising societal dignity and the family’s socially constructed honour. The law already condemns these acts; what fails is enforcement. As activist Anis Haroon points out, laws exist but the state’s will to apply them often falters when political expediency, social pressures or local power networks intervene.
The road to eliminating honour killings in the entire country is long, and it inculcates both social change and strict legal action. The provincial government must ensure that law enforcement operates impartially, investigations are thorough and that family ties do not shield perpetrators. Factors such as low literacy, lack of awareness and the cultural normalisation of these killings should also be major targets for change. Furthermore, the role of jirgas in providing settlements that perpetuate injustice must be revised. So-called honour can never justify violence or the inhumane loss of innocent lives in the name of misguided pride.
Above all, we must see each unlawful killing in this category not just as a crime but as a failure of moral, legal and civic order. Without a cultural acknowledgement of the brutality of honour killings, without accountability from the authorities and without social resistance, this cycle of violence will continue unchecked.
