10 Honour Killing

Ms. Kumudini Pati

Introduction

Honour based Violence

It is extremely important for students of Women’s Studies to understand the socio-cultural roots of the kind of violence against women which is called ‘honour crime’ or ‘honour based violence’, the most extreme form of which is ‘honour killing’. I say this because it is the modern, aspiring youth of today who can bring about a positive transformation that can put an end to this scourge. ‘Honour crime’ is an entirely different category of violence which is perpetrated within the family and community. Unlike other kinds of domestic violence, it is not considered ‘a private matter’ concerning a family, nor is it abhorred by the community. Rather, it is deliberately committed in public or is widely publicised to instil fear within other members of the community and make them conform to outdated patriarchala norms. It also enjoys social sanction and is often committed with the active participation of a number of other members of the family or community . The phenomenon of ‘honour killing’ has been prevalent not only in India, but in many parts of the world like Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, the Middle East, Mediterranean and Persian Gulf countries, France, Germany and U.K.(reported by Special Rapporteur appointed by the UN), as well as Bangladesh, Brazil, Ecuador, India, Israel, Italy, Sweden and Uganda, North America, Canada and Latin America ( reports collected by the U N Commission on Human Rights)1.One may say that ‘honour crimes’ are not region- or religion-specific, but span various countries, religions, cultures, communities as well as historical periods. Honour killing is the most extreme form of punishing people, mostly women, in the name of honour, be it the honour of the family, the clan, village, caste, community or religion. Yet, many governments, including that of India, have not collated data relating to honour crimes. So, in India, it had never figured in the NCRBb data. It was only in 2014 that the Ministry of Home Affairs of the Government of India has begun collection of such data through the National Crime Report Bureau. The task, however, will prove to be challenging, due to the fact that reporting of such incidents is either rare or often false. For example, a case of honour killing could be made out to be a case of suicide or simply murder by a third person for other reasons ( Aarushi Murder case [Noida, May 2008] and the Badaun sisters’ case [Badaun, U.P.,May 2014]) The Ministry of Law and Justice began preparing ‘The Prohibition of Interference with Freedom of Matrimonial Alliance Bill’ to curb incidents of honour killing, only since last year. The Bill is yet to be placed before the Parliament. This step has come as fallout of the mass upsurge against the Nirbhaya Rape and Killing caseA, which led to several recommendations by Justice J.S. Verma in his voluminous reportB, which has included honour killing as a serious crime against women (also men belonging to lower castes or class, and minority, in some cases).

Honour Killing- most dishonourable

When we talk of ‘honour Killing’ it actually means killing men or women in the name of honour; the term ‘honour killing having been introduced by a Dutch scholar of Turkish origin, Ane Nauta, in 1978, to separate such killings from other killings in the family and community.2 There has, however been a lot of debate by women’s organisations and social activists as to why this kind of extreme violence should be termed ‘honour killing’, since there is absolutely nothing honourable about it; some have even proposed that it be called ‘dishonourable killing’ or ‘customary killing. The UN has also opposed this terminology for the reason that the term ‘risks reinforcing discriminatory misconceptions that males embody the ‘honour’ of the family and the community’. Kofi Anan, when he was UN Secretary General, had called it ‘shame killing’.3

The question arises as to whose ‘honour’ is being referred to? More often than not, ‘honour’ here means the so-called honour of a particular community which may be religious, caste-based, even sub-caste or ‘gotra-based’ (In Hindu society, the term gotra means clan. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline 4 or sometimes village-based; it may also mean ‘family honour’. A broader definition of ‘honour killing’ may be ‘homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the perpetrators’ belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonour upon the family or community’, usually for reasons such as refusing to enter an arranged marriage, opting out of an arranged marriage being in a relationship that is disapproved by their relatives, having sex outside marriage, becoming the victim of rape, dressing in ways or adopting lifestyles that are deemed inappropriate (actually, westernised or modern), or engaging in homosexual relations. It is another matter that the perpetrators themselves may have been involved in several dishonourable acts in the past, for example, rape, incest, violence on spouse, corruption and even murders; yet they hold the right to mete out ‘justice’ to all those who are under their patriarchal control. They may, at times, delegate this responsibility to their younger brothers, sons or members of the community to which they belong. (Bharti case, Kakerkheda, Meerut, Feb.2015)5

Incidence all over the world and in India

In 2000, the UN estimated that there are about 5000 honour killings every year. In 2002 and again in 2004, the U.N. brought a resolution to end honour killings and other honour-related crimes. In 2004, at a meeting in The Hague about the rising tide of honour killings in Europe, law enforcement officers from the U.K. announced plans to begin reopening old cases to see if certain murders were, indeed, honour murders. The number of honour killings is routinely underestimated, and most estimates are little more than guesses that vary widely. In India, it is estimated that there are 1000 honour killings every year. The phenomenon is most prevalent in the Western and North Western parts of India, viz. Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi, Western U.P., as well as in M.P., Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra; sporadic incidents are seen in other parts of India, recently one in West Bengal, in the month of January 2014, where a girl was ordered to be gang raped for having relations with a married man from another community and village.6

History of Honour Crimes

Honour killings are not a recent phenomenon. They have been happening for centuries all over the world. In history books we find such cases occured in 1200 BC in the Hammurabi tribes and in 6000 BC among Assyrian tribes. In those tribes women’s chastity was considered to be the property of families. In Ancient Babylonian, Egyptian, Chinese, North American Native American tribes and Persian cultures women committing adultery were punished. In Ancient Rome, being raped was considered so dishonourable and detrimental to a woman’s life and reputation that the elders of the tribe believed that killing her was a ‘merciful act.’ The Roman law of Pater Familias (oldest male or father of the family) gave complete control to the men of the family on their children and wives.

India: ‘No’ to marriage by choice

No law against forced marriage

Twenty first century India is still reeling under the pressures of the caste system. Communal divides have also grown stronger. So when a girl and boy fall in love and their choice of partner defies societal norms of religion, caste, sub-caste or ‘gotra’ there is a severe backlash from the community to which either/or both belong. So much so that the parents or brothers of the victim/s face enormous pressure and sometimes for the sake of their own survival have to go to the extent of becoming murderers. (Manoj-Babli case, Kaithal, Haryana, June 2007, Nirupama Pathak case, May 2010, Bhavna Murder, New Delhi, Nov. 2014, Pratibha Murder Case, Muzaffarnagar, U.P., Jan. 2015)This social phenomenon can be described as some kind of patriarchal reaction to the freedom of choice exercised by young individuals, without considering the matter of endogamy c. At the psychological level, it may be some deep-rooted insecurity of a family that the action of their children may lead to their ostracism and, eventually isolation from the community from which they have been drawing support. On the other hand, remaining closely bound to the joint family or community seems to have its benefits, especially when it comes to matters of matrimony and property. A saying in Hindi goes ‘Roti aur beti ka rishta har kisi se nahin hota.’(The relationship of sharing food and a daughter is not possible with everybody).But with more and more young people leaving their homes to study or work in different cities and even countries, it is natural that they will meet many friends from different social backgrounds-castes and sub-castes, classes, religions and this will often lead to personal choices defying their parents’ will and existing social norms. So, the new relationships are often nipped in the bud. If the (mostly upper caste) girl tries to defy warnings, her life may be snuffed out to save the family from future problems. If the boy is of a lower caste, the girl’s family will try to kill him.

The distinctive nature of honour crimes

The distinctive nature of crimes in the name of honour is their collective nature and brutality, both of which enjoy social sanction. It is for this reason that often it is extremely difficult to pre-empt these incidents. Many members of an extended family or village community plan the act together, many times through a formal “family council” or village council or Khapd, which is strong enough to dismiss any dissenting voices, defy and challenge the law of the land as well as easily manipulate the police. Many times the police and local politicians may also share the opinion of the Khap and support its diktats, because they not only share the same ideology of casteism, communalism and patriarchy, but find it useful for vote-bank politics. (In the Bhavna case, her father was a local politician owing allegiance to the Congress Party; Both the ruling party and the opposition supported the Khaps’ demand for amending the Hindu Marriage Act so as to prohibit marriage within the same gotra.)

A means of controlling women’s sexuality and behaviour

Another significant feature is the connection of honour crimes with the control of a woman’s behaviour and the preservation of her chastity till marriage which in the context of modern life-styles is perceived to be in danger. A key aspect is the importance of the reputation of the family in the community, and the stigma associated with losing social status. In tight-knit communities this can lead to ostracism and total isolation.(Shafilea Murder Case, Chesire, NW England, Sept.2003, Amina and Sarah Murder case,Jan. 2008).. Rather, if a diktat is obeyed, the status of the perpetrators may rise within their communities, because their behaviour is seen to be in consonance with prevalent social norms and hence justified. In 2012, there had been a demand from the Sarv Khape of Haryana that the Hindu Marriage Act be amended to lower the age of marriage. This demand was later shelved due to the all out opposition from many Community members. In the words of Chandigarh-based legal experts Anil Malhotra and his brother Ranjit Malhotra, “in traditional societies, honour killings are basically ‘justified’ as a sanction for ‘dishonourable’ behaviour.”

The brutality of honour crimes

Honour crimes may include inhuman treatment or brutal attacks, confinement and restriction in mobility, blackening the face, shaving hair, naked parading, beating, forcing the victim to consume urine, excreta or poison, gang rape, and other kinds of inhuman treatment at the hands of the perpetrators. Methods of killing may include violent forms like stabbing, beating or stoning to death, burning, beheading, hanging, throat slashing, lethal acid attacks, shooting and strangulation. These murders are mostly performed with extreme brutality in public to warn others within the community of possible consequences of engaging in what is seen as unwanted or illicit behaviour. It has been seen in several cases, that because a couple had left the village due to fear, they were tactfully called back by their parents according to a premeditated strategy, on the promise of accepting their relationship and organising their marriage, and then confining and forcibly marrying them to someone within their caste, or killing them.

A positive story

But there are those who have defied traditional codes and risked their lives for it. A Hindu woman, Shail Devi saved the lives of 10 Muslims in Azizpur Bahilwara village in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district during communal clashes after an honour killing, in which five people died, in January 2015. Shail Devi, a frail widow in her early 50s, risking her own life, gave shelter to her Muslim neighbours when a mob of more than 5,000 people attacked Azizpur Bahilwara village after a 20-year-old Hindu boy’s body was found. She, with her two daughters stood guard outside the house and sent the attackers away. The boy had been allegedly abducted and killed over his love affair with a Muslim girl.

Shail’s act of courage was lauded by the Muslims as well as the District administration, and she was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 51.000 by the Chief Minister of Bihar.7

Laws against Honour Crimes

So far, no law has been enacted to prevent honour crimes in India. The Ministry of Law and Justice has taken up the task of formulating ‘The Prohibition of Interference with Freedom of Matrimonial Alliance Bill’ since 2014. Earlier the NCW had proposed a Bill with the argument that, ‘…….these actions also violate certain fundamental rights in the Constitution of India, including the right to life, and liberty which includes the right to bodily integrity, and the right to choose whom to associate with. The actions of the parents of the girls to stop her from exercising her choice also result in curtailment of her freedom to movement and expression. A valid consent to a Marriage is also an essential prerequisite under the law. However, no laws which punish crimes in the name of Honour exist in India. There are also no laws which punish the illegal and often barbaric actions of the Khap or community panchayats or other caste or religious organizations. Some offences under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 are invoked to sometimes book offenders in these cases but these offences do not cover the entire gamut of illegal actions perpetrated in the name of honour or prescribe adequate punishment for these barbaric acts.8

Conclusion

Since the phenomenon of ‘honour killing’ is deeply entrenched in age-old customs and traditions, it is extremely difficult to put an end to it through legislation alone, though one cannot but welcome a law which will act as a deterrent for the perpetrators as well as a weapon in the hands of young women and men who dare to challenge the status quo. It is more important that the issue of curbing women’s sexuality and suppressing their right to choose their own lifestyle and partners in the name of family or community ‘honour’ be brought into public discourse, so that politicians, caste and Khap leaders (cutting across Party lines), the media, social activists, the Judiciary and the Administration work together to understand the phenomenon and sensitise themselves as well as society at large on the gender as well as social dimensions of this social evil- how girls are forced into unhappy marriages and how this affects the mental and physical growth of their children, how the scourge is carried from one generation to the next and how insecurities multiply within unhappy families with violent relationships. Extreme and complex examples of collusion of the state, police, and the affluent class (e.g. a business magnate running Lux Cozi), have been exposed in the high-profile case of Rizwanur Rahman and Priyanka Todi of West Bengal (2007). Similar high-profile cases were those of Aarushi Talwar of Noida, U.P. and the Nitish Katara case, New Delhi. A positive effort in the direction of sensitising society has been the initiative of several filmmakers. But, we can say without doubt that sans a cultural revolution of sorts and powerful social movements against the caste system, patriarchy, class hegemony and communal hatred, one cannot think of hitting at honour based violence. And we must not to forget that the modern, educated youth of India will have to play the role of vanguard in this struggle.

Affirmative Action

1. The Government must have a helpline for women (and men) who are facing the threat of honour killing and need protection.
2. Women’s organisations, relatives and friends as well as the police should take all reported cases of threat seriously and act immediately.
3. Gender sensitisation of communities as well as the police, judiciary and media is a must. The structural manifestations of violence against women should be understood.
4. Political leaders, Khap chiefs and religious leaders should be booked in cases of abetting honour crimes, when found to be violating the law.
5. Effective legislation should be in place to prevent forced marriage, honour crimes, imposition of illegal diktats through violence, ostracising of families and hate speeches against a particular community or family.
6. Social pressure should be mounted by civil society to make all parties involved accountable, viz. Members of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies, the Judiciary, the District Administration and Police, the media, parents of the victims as well as heads of local bodies.
7. All Khaps should be declared illegal.

Links and References

1. www.wikipedia.com/wiki/honour_killing
2. http://www.drsohail.com/new_creations.aspx/creations/honour_killing_of_women.
3. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/23/stop-honour-killing-murder-women-oppressive-patriarchy
4. www.Wikipedia.org/wiki/gotra
5. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-brother-kills-18-year-old-sister-in-meerut-in-honour-killing-case-2058922)
6. https://honourcrimes.wordpress.com/
7. www.dnaindia.com
8. http://nlrd.org/womens-rights-initiative/national-commission-for-women/bill-against-honour-killings-a-ncw-proposal
9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Delhi_gang_rape
10. nlrd.org/womens…/justice–verma–committee–report-download-full-report