Moral Discourses on the Honor Killings of Women in Pakistan and Feminist Christian Contributions

Abstract

Doing theology from the margins and for the margins compelled the researcher to pursue rendering her epistemic privilege for the powerless victims of historical oppression in Pakistan known as an honour killing. The researcher became socially conscious about the said problem at the age of ten when she watched a teleserye on the plot of Sindhi folk tale “UmarMarvi” which exposed the dreadful cultural tradition called karo-kari in Sindh, Pakistan. Karo-kari is the local name of honour killing. Almost twenty-three years after, last July 15, 2016, the researcher saw on the timeline of her Facebook account, a beautiful model named Qandeel Baloch, killed in the name of honour by her very own brother. Realizing the deep-rootedness and prolonged existence of this shockingly stark reality, the researcher was particularly disturbed over its moral aspect. This prompted the researcher to investigate and uncover the moral discourses on honour killings in Pakistan and glean on the contemporary feminist perspectives that can render voice to the victims. The research employs the See-Judge-Act method. “See” stage analyzes the situation, “Judge” entails analyzing the case through the lens of Scriptures and Church Teachings and finally the “Act” stage compels to propose relevant actions. According to Aurat Foundations in Pakistan, the number of females that were killed in the name of honour were 557 in 2010, 604 in 2009, and 475 in 2008. Criminal law act 2004, which is also known as honor killing act, protect all the citizens, especially young girls and women. However, despite anti-honour killing laws, religious laws are still being invoked. Honor killing is deeply rooted in a culture which considers female as object and commodities. Therefore, mostly women are the target victims. The published statistics of honour killing cases are unreliable since this issue is underreported because of the inherent social stigma and fear of losing honour. The surviving victims are forced to forgive their perpetrators who are mostly family members under the laws called Qisas (forgiveness) and Diyat (compromise). The judicial laws to protect the surviving women are weak. The study reveals that there are strong moral justifications among Pakistani Society that killing can restore the lost personal, communal, and tribal honour. Honour killing is a global phenomenon predominantly practiced in Islamic countries. There is no exact agreement as to when this practice of honour killing started. It is considered a cultural phenomenon with religious underpinnings. The study hopes to provide contemporary reflections on societal violence, cultural and religious oppression, and empowerment of women victims of honour killing in the light of the postcolonial liberation and feminist theories.