Karo-kari
Encyclopedia
In Pakistan
honor killings are known locally as karo-kari
. Karo-kari is part of cultural tradition in Sindh
and is a compound word literally meaning "black male" (Karo) and "black female (Kari), in metaphoric terms for adulterer and adulteress. Once labeled as a Kari, male family members get the self-authorized justification to kill her and the co-accused Karo to restore family honor, although in the majority of cases the victim is female, while the murderers are male.
Karo-Kari can be defined as acts of murder, in which a woman is killed for her actual or perceived immoral behavior. Such "immoral behavior" may take the form of alleged marital infidelity, refusal to submit to an arranged marriage, demanding a divorce, perceived flirtatious behaviour and 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. According to women's rights
advocates, the concepts of women as property and honor are so deeply entrenched in the social, political and economic fabric of Pakistan that the government, for the most part, ignores the daily occurrences of women being killed and maimed by their families.
An Amnesty International report noted "the failure of the authorities to prevent these killings by investigating and punishing the perpetrators." Recent cases include that of three teenage girls who were buried alive after refusing arranged marriages. Another case was that of Taslim Khatoon Solangi, 17, of Hajna Shah village in Khairpur district, which was widely reported after her father, 57-year-old Gul Sher Solangi, publicized the case. He alleged his eight months’ pregnant daughter was tortured and killed on March 7 on the orders of her father-in-law, who accused her of carrying a child conceived out of wedlock. Statistically, honor killings have a high level of support in Pakistan's rural society, despite widespread condemnation from human rights groups. In 2002 alone over 382 people, about 245 women and 137 men, became victims of honor killings in the Sindh
province of Pakistan
. Over the course of six years, more than 4,000 women have died as victims of honor killings in Pakistan from 1999 to 2004. In 2005 the average annual number of honor killings for the whole nation was stated to be more than 10,000 per year.
According to women's rights advocates, the concepts of women as property, and of honor, are so deeply entrenched in the social, political and economic fabric of Pakistan that the government mostly ignores the regular occurrences of women being killed and maimed by their families." Frequently, women killed in honor killings are recorded as having committed suicide or died in accidents.
A conference held in May 2005 in Islamabad
, Pakistan addressed whether Pakistani law, governments and international agencies were having any success in reducing honor killings in the country. They found that more cases of honor killing are being reported rather than hidden, and more women are having the courage to come forward. But, they found there was a severe lack of proper implementation of laws and assurances that men who commit honor killings are not given lighter sentences. The conference found fault with Pakistan's Zina laws that put women in an unfair disadvantage and inferior position, often at the mercy of men to prove their innocence.
It is noted by sociologists that honor killings do not necessarily have to do with religion, but rather the cultures in different regions. Savitri Goonesekere
qualifies this claim, saying that Islamic leaders
in Pakistan use religious justifications for sanctioning honor killings.
('blood-money') as compensation. The murderer then goes free.
Once such a pardon has been secured, the state has no further writ on the matter although often the killers are relatives of the victim. Human rights agencies in Pakistan have repeatedly emphasized that women falling prey to karo-kari were usually those wanting to marry of their own will. In many cases, the victims held properties that the male members of their families did not wish to lose if the women chose to marry outside the family. More often than not, the karo-kari murder relates to inheritance problems, feud-settling, or to get rid of the wife, for instance in order to remarry.
Over 4,000 people have been murdered by this practice in Pakistan over the six years 1998-2004. Of the victims, almost 2,700 were women and just over 1,300 were men,; 3,451 cases came before the courts. The highest rate of the practice of Karo-kari were in Punjab
, followed by the Sindh
province. Lesser number of cases have also been reported in North-West Frontier Province
(NWFP) and in Balochistan
. More recently in 2005, the average annual number of karo kari for the whole nation ran up to more than 10,000 per year.
This pattern of murder has been resisted by Human Rights activists like Aitzaz Ahsan
, Ayaz Latif Palijo
, Asma Jahangir
, Hina Jilani
and Shahnaz Bukhari
.
Karo-Kari is supposed to be prosecuted as ordinary murder, but in practice, police and prosecutors often ignore it. Often a man must simply claim the killing was for his honor and he will go free. Nilofar Bakhtiar
, advisor to Prime Minister
Shaukat Aziz
, stated that in 2003, as many as 1,261 women were murdered in honor killings. On December 8, 2004, under international and domestic pressure, Pakistan enacted a law that made honor killings punishable by a prison term of seven years, or by the death penalty in the most extreme cases. Women and human rights organizations were, however, wary of this law, as it stops short of outlawing the practice of allowing killers to buy their freedom by paying compensation to the victim's relatives. Seeing as in most cases, it is the victim's immediate relatives, who are the killers, inherently the new law is just eyewash. It did not alter the provisions, whereby the accused could negotiate pardon with the victim's family under the Islamic provisions. Former judge Nasira Javed Iqbal told IRIN the bill allowed close relatives of the deceased to escape punishment with ease. In March 2005 the Pakistani parliament rejected a bill, which sought to strengthen the law against the practice of honor killing declaring it to be un-Islamic. However, the bill was brought up again, and in November 2006, it passed. However, it is doubtful that the law would actually help women in presence of the loopholes of the amendment.
Every year in Pakistan hundreds of women of all ages and in all parts of the country, are reported killed in the name of honor. Many more cases go unreported. Almost all go unpunished. Although women and human rights organizations, activists and moderates have called for seriousness and implementation from the authorities when dealing with the issue of honor killings, these continue to be opposed by hardline religious and conservative opposition in parliament, who claim the traditions serve to protect society from moral transgression namely adultery and amendments or repeal are seen as unislamic.
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
honor killings are known locally as karo-kari
Karo-kari
In Pakistan honor killings are known locally as karo-kari . Karo-kari is part of cultural tradition in Sindh and is a compound word literally meaning "black male" and "black female , in metaphoric terms for adulterer and adulteress...
. Karo-kari is part of cultural tradition in Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
and is a compound word literally meaning "black male" (Karo) and "black female (Kari), in metaphoric terms for adulterer and adulteress. Once labeled as a Kari, male family members get the self-authorized justification to kill her and the co-accused Karo to restore family honor, although in the majority of cases the victim is female, while the murderers are male.
Karo-Kari can be defined as acts of murder, in which a woman is killed for her actual or perceived immoral behavior. Such "immoral behavior" may take the form of alleged marital infidelity, refusal to submit to an arranged marriage, demanding a divorce, perceived flirtatious behaviour and 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. According to women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
advocates, the concepts of women as property and honor are so deeply entrenched in the social, political and economic fabric of Pakistan that the government, for the most part, ignores the daily occurrences of women being killed and maimed by their families.
An Amnesty International report noted "the failure of the authorities to prevent these killings by investigating and punishing the perpetrators." Recent cases include that of three teenage girls who were buried alive after refusing arranged marriages. Another case was that of Taslim Khatoon Solangi, 17, of Hajna Shah village in Khairpur district, which was widely reported after her father, 57-year-old Gul Sher Solangi, publicized the case. He alleged his eight months’ pregnant daughter was tortured and killed on March 7 on the orders of her father-in-law, who accused her of carrying a child conceived out of wedlock. Statistically, honor killings have a high level of support in Pakistan's rural society, despite widespread condemnation from human rights groups. In 2002 alone over 382 people, about 245 women and 137 men, became victims of honor killings in the Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
province of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Over the course of six years, more than 4,000 women have died as victims of honor killings in Pakistan from 1999 to 2004. In 2005 the average annual number of honor killings for the whole nation was stated to be more than 10,000 per year.
According to women's rights advocates, the concepts of women as property, and of honor, are so deeply entrenched in the social, political and economic fabric of Pakistan that the government mostly ignores the regular occurrences of women being killed and maimed by their families." Frequently, women killed in honor killings are recorded as having committed suicide or died in accidents.
A conference held in May 2005 in Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
, Pakistan addressed whether Pakistani law, governments and international agencies were having any success in reducing honor killings in the country. They found that more cases of honor killing are being reported rather than hidden, and more women are having the courage to come forward. But, they found there was a severe lack of proper implementation of laws and assurances that men who commit honor killings are not given lighter sentences. The conference found fault with Pakistan's Zina laws that put women in an unfair disadvantage and inferior position, often at the mercy of men to prove their innocence.
It is noted by sociologists that honor killings do not necessarily have to do with religion, but rather the cultures in different regions. Savitri Goonesekere
Savitri Goonesekere
Savitri Goonesekere is a jurist and academic from Sri Lanka. She is an international expert on the rights of children. A prolific writer, Goonasekere was instrumental in the evolution of modern legal education in Sri Lanka...
qualifies this claim, saying that Islamic leaders
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
in Pakistan use religious justifications for sanctioning honor killings.
Karo-kari
Most karo kari cases are committed by a close relative - father, brother, son, or husband of the woman. Often, the victims are the most vulnerable members of the family or community. In either case, if and when the case reaches a court of law, the victim's family may 'pardon' the murderer (who may well be one of them), or be pressurised to accept diyatDiyya
Diyya is compensation paid to the heirs of a victim. In Arabic, the word means both blood money and ransom.-Islamic and Arab tradition:The Qur'an specifies the principle of Qisas Diyya (plural: Diyyat; ) is compensation paid to the heirs of a victim. In Arabic, the word means both blood money and...
('blood-money') as compensation. The murderer then goes free.
Once such a pardon has been secured, the state has no further writ on the matter although often the killers are relatives of the victim. Human rights agencies in Pakistan have repeatedly emphasized that women falling prey to karo-kari were usually those wanting to marry of their own will. In many cases, the victims held properties that the male members of their families did not wish to lose if the women chose to marry outside the family. More often than not, the karo-kari murder relates to inheritance problems, feud-settling, or to get rid of the wife, for instance in order to remarry.
Over 4,000 people have been murdered by this practice in Pakistan over the six years 1998-2004. Of the victims, almost 2,700 were women and just over 1,300 were men,; 3,451 cases came before the courts. The highest rate of the practice of Karo-kari were in Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
, followed by the Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
province. Lesser number of cases have also been reported in North-West Frontier Province
North-West Frontier Province
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
(NWFP) and in Balochistan
Balochistan (Pakistan)
Balochistan is one of the four provinces or federating units of Pakistan. With an area of 134,051 mi2 or , it is the largest province of Pakistan, constituting approximately 44% of the total land mass of Pakistan. According to the 1998 population census, Balochistan had a population of...
. More recently in 2005, the average annual number of karo kari for the whole nation ran up to more than 10,000 per year.
This pattern of murder has been resisted by Human Rights activists like Aitzaz Ahsan
Aitzaz Ahsan
Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan is a Pakistani lawmaker, barrister, and politician from Pakistan's People's Party who served as President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan.-Early life and education:...
, Ayaz Latif Palijo
Ayaz Latif Palijo
Ayaz Latif Palijo اياز لطیف پلیجو is a Sindhi Pakistani activist, lawyer, writer and teacher. Palijo was born in Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan, to a Baloch mother, the women's rights activist and artist Jeejee Zarina Baloch, and a South Asian leftist father and founder of Awami Tahreek, Rasool Bux...
, Asma Jahangir
Asma Jahangir
Asma Jilani Jahangir is a leading Pakistani lawyer, advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, President Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan and human rights activist, who works both in Pakistan and internationally to prevent the persecution of religious minorities, women, and exploitation...
, Hina Jilani
Hina Jilani
Hina Jilani is an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and a human-rights activist from Lahore in Punjab, Pakistan.-Work:Jilani is internationally recognized for her expertise in critical human rights investigations. She started practising law in 1979, when Pakistan was under martial law...
and Shahnaz Bukhari
Shahnaz Bukhari
Shahnaz Bukhari is a Pakistani clinical psychologist, and activist. She is founder and director of the non-governmental organisation, Progressive Women’s Association .-Education and work:...
.
Karo-Kari is supposed to be prosecuted as ordinary murder, but in practice, police and prosecutors often ignore it. Often a man must simply claim the killing was for his honor and he will go free. Nilofar Bakhtiar
Nilofar Bakhtiar
Nilofar Bakhtiar is a public official in Pakistan. She was Federal Minister for Tourism in Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's cabinet until a scandal forced her to resign. She remains a senator. Bakhtiar has worked toward improving women's social status, as well as working in areas of health and...
, advisor to Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
Shaukat Aziz
Shaukat Aziz
Shaukat Aziz is a world acclaimed Pakistani economist who was the 15th Prime Minister of Pakistan from May 20, 2004 to 15 November 2007 in a joint military government led by General Pervez Musharraf. A Citibank executive, Aziz returned to Pakistan from the United States to be became Finance...
, stated that in 2003, as many as 1,261 women were murdered in honor killings. On December 8, 2004, under international and domestic pressure, Pakistan enacted a law that made honor killings punishable by a prison term of seven years, or by the death penalty in the most extreme cases. Women and human rights organizations were, however, wary of this law, as it stops short of outlawing the practice of allowing killers to buy their freedom by paying compensation to the victim's relatives. Seeing as in most cases, it is the victim's immediate relatives, who are the killers, inherently the new law is just eyewash. It did not alter the provisions, whereby the accused could negotiate pardon with the victim's family under the Islamic provisions. Former judge Nasira Javed Iqbal told IRIN the bill allowed close relatives of the deceased to escape punishment with ease. In March 2005 the Pakistani parliament rejected a bill, which sought to strengthen the law against the practice of honor killing declaring it to be un-Islamic. However, the bill was brought up again, and in November 2006, it passed. However, it is doubtful that the law would actually help women in presence of the loopholes of the amendment.
Every year in Pakistan hundreds of women of all ages and in all parts of the country, are reported killed in the name of honor. Many more cases go unreported. Almost all go unpunished. Although women and human rights organizations, activists and moderates have called for seriousness and implementation from the authorities when dealing with the issue of honor killings, these continue to be opposed by hardline religious and conservative opposition in parliament, who claim the traditions serve to protect society from moral transgression namely adultery and amendments or repeal are seen as unislamic.