A shockingly common practice in Pakistan, “Karo Kari” involves the murder of a female member of family by a relative, because she is thought to have brought dishonor to the family.

The mere thought that a woman has contravened the code of “decent behaviour” damages honor; and women on whom suspicion has fallen are rarely given the opportunity to defend themselves. The relatives of these women have no other socially acceptable alternative than to remove the stain of honour on their family name by killing the female relative responsible.

This violation of the code of “decent behaviour” can be anything such as a woman refusing to enter into an arrange marriage, if she seeks a divorce (even from an abusive husband), if she has relations with a man outside of marriage (sexual or non-sexual), flirting and even if she is the victim of rape.

Suspicion and accusations alone are many times enough to defile a family’s honor and therefore enough to warrant the killing of the woman. The family members who commit the murder typically go unpunished.

According to official estimates, there were 1,349 honor killings in Pakistan in 2004 alone. Most the women falling victim to this crime were those who wanted to marry of their own will. And in many cases, they were murdered because they held properties that the male members of their families did not wish to loose to someone outside the family – to the man the victim wished to marry.

Official estimates place the number of murders in the name of honor at 4,383 women in the last 4 years. The actual figure would be much higher, but hard to calculate as many cases are never reported or known outside the family.

Yet, no strong steps have been taken to curb this crime and bring those who commit it to justice. The shocking part is that the murders of these women in the name of honor are thought to be a private matter in many parts of Pakistan and rarely are the murderers ever brought to justice or punished.

Some attempts have been made to curb this heinous crime, such as the bill passed by the government in December of 2004 which made “karo kari” punishable under the same penal provisions as murder.

However, that bill is ineffective as according to another Pakistani law, a proven murderer can seek or buy pardon from the victim’s family. Because no alteration has been made to this law and because it is usually a member of family that commits the murder, no one is ever charged with the crime or sentenced. And once such a pardon has been secured, the state has no further writ in the matter.