By: Nazneen Zafar !!
In the words of B.R. Ambedkar, “Political tyranny is nothing compared to social tyranny and a reformer, who defies society, is a much more courageous man than a politician who defies government.”
Even after so many years of independence, in the newly liberalized India, who proud its democracy, the marriage is still arranged by the families either through marriage broker, newspaper’s advertisement, web-based marriage portal or the oral traditions. If one dares to oppose such ways, be it a man or a woman, can be murdered for rejecting a forced marriage or for marrying a partner of their own choice in the name of the ‘honor’ of the family.
Human Rights Watch stated, “honor crimes are acts of violence, usually murders committed by male family members against the female members who are said to have brought dishonor upon the family.” Honor killing is a blatant violation of human rights which includes various kinds of torture, rape, forced marriage, keeping confined within the house and even committing murder to protect the family honor. Mostly women get targeted by her family for reasons including being a victim of sexual assault or committing adultery.
Hundreds, if not thousands of women are murdered by their families each year in the name of ‘family honor’. A woman’s life can be triggered by the mere perception of behaving in a way which dishonors her family. A family who gave birth and nurtures the life of its daughter can even take her life only in the name of protecting one’s honor which is supposed to be much more important than its daughter. And just because of such cruel act, a message is flashed all over the world that we are still in a dark era though lightning the whole country.
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Photo Credit: https://www.globalvillagespace.com/continuing-scourge-of-honor-killing-in-pakistan/
Indian Society for Legal Research 