Honour killing: Young woman shot dead by brother in Pakistan's Karachi

Karachi [Pakistan], May 15 : A young woman was shot dead by her brother in the name of 'honour' in Phase VI of Karachi's Defence Housing Authority (DHA) on Sunday, reported Dawn.

As per the police, the victim's brother killed his sister on suspicion of "illicit relations" with a person.

Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed said the young woman suffered two bullet wounds on her head and leg. There was extensive damage seen in her cral vault, reported Dawn.

According to Senior Superintendent of Police (South) Syed Asad Raza, the initial inquiry revealed that the victim was shot dead by her brother.

He told Dawn that the suspect had "confessed" to killing his sister for "honour" during interrogation by the police.

Chhipa Welfare Orgsation spokesperson said that the incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday. He said that the body was later moved to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre to fulfil legal formalities.

During the initial probe, the suspect claimed that he was at his home on Saturday night at around 2 am. He was cleng his licenced 9 mm pistol in the yard of the house while his sister was "coming from the kitchen side".

"During cleng, the pistol was accidentally fired and the bullet hit the waist of my sister, injuring her," the police quoted the brother as having told them initially, reported Dawn.

"She was shifted to a hospital for medical treatment but she succumbed to her injury during treatment," as per the statement of the brother.

However, SSP Raza said that the police findings suggested that her brother had shot the girl. The senior officer categorically stated that it was not an "accidental fire".

The suspect was placed under custody and interrogated, after which he "spilt the beans and confessed the crime," the official stated.

Raza said that none of the family members were willing to lodge the first information report. Therefore, it has been decided that the murder case would be registered against the held suspect on behalf of the state, he added, reported Dawn.

Hundreds of women are murdered by their relatives in Pakistan each year on the pretext of defending what is seen as 'family honour'. Honour killings are often considered private family matters and are therefore rarely reported.

Notably in February 2016 a film on honour killings in Pakistan won an Oscar for best documentary, "A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness".

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, over 470 cases of honour killings were reported in 2021 in Pakistan. But human rights defenders estimate that around 1,000 women are killed in the name of honour every year.

The victims of honour killings are widely perceived in Pakistan to have brought shame and dishonour to their relatives. The killings are usually carried out by family members.

According to Human Rights Watch, the most common reason for honour-related crimes is violating social norms and what is thought to be accepted social behaviour.

A woman's choice of clothing, employment, or education; refusal to accept an arranged marriage; getting married without family's consent; seeking a divorce; being raped or sexually assaulted; having intimate or sexual relations before or outside marriage, even if only alleged these are seen to be valid reasons for an honour killing.

Amnesty International states honour killings are "committed predominantly against women and girls."

In 2016 following the killing of Qandeel Baloch, the National Assembly enacted the Anti-Honour Killing Law. However, the law that allows relatives of the victim to forgive the murderer is still in Pakistan's rule books, however, and in practice.

Qandeel Baloch's brother was acquitted under this law. The mother was given the freedom to forgive her son after the judge ruled the case was not an honour killing.

This ruling and the fact that hundreds of cases of honour killings in Pakistan go unreported will continue to keep women and men vulnerable to being killed in the name of protecting the honour of the family.