https://arab.news/gqamp
- Honor killings, in which family members kill women or men for actions perceived as bringing shame, have long plagued Pakistan
- The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said 405 women were killed in 2024 in such cases, compared with 226 in 2023
KARACHI: Pakistan’s southern Sindh province has recorded a 43 percent increase in “honor killing” cases, the provincial police department said on Thursday, with the highest number of victims being women.
Honor killings, in which family members kill women or men for actions perceived as bringing shame to the family such as choosing their spouse, have long plagued the South Asian country.
In a report released on Thursday, the Sindh police said 142 people, including 105 women and 37 men, were killed in honor killing cases from Jan. 1 till Aug. 31.
“Sindh witnessed a 43 percent increase in cases of Karo-Kari (honor killing), with 142 people killed this year compared to 2024’s 99,” the report said.
Much of Pakistani society operates under a strict code of “honor,” with women beholden to their male relatives over choices around education, employment and who they can marry.
The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said 405 women were killed in 2024 in such cases, compared with 226 in 2023.
In July, police said they had arrested the father and the ex-husband of an alleged “honor killing” victim among nine people in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. Sidra Bibi, 18, was killed on the orders of a local council of elders in the garrison city of Rawalpindi after she married a man of her choice, according to police.
The same month, police in southwestern Balochistan province arrested 11 suspects after a video shared online appeared to show a young couple being fatally shot for marrying without their families’ approval.