Honour Killing
A Social Evil
- by Devita Shah [KLE Society Law College, Bangalore]
The term honour sounds respectable but when it is linked with killing someone it becomes a heinous
crime. The recent uprisal of this phenomenon witnessed through many cases and instances have led
us to cogitate over it. The definition of the phrase 'honour killing' has been interpreted in the manner
i.e. customary killing of a person or member of a family or a social group by other fellow member who
are held to have brought dishonour upon the family. However, it makes to think that what honour is
envisaged in killing their own family members. The only reason a person has done something which
the rest of the family members do not approved or has violated the so called strictly applicable laws of
a particular society does not give them any right to kill them. The question still remains unasnwered
that how can it be moral to kill anyone who tries to act according to their own whims and fancies.
This is the mere perception that women are considered to be the honour of the family and they have
to maintain their chastity and not to indulge in any violations of the prescribed set of rules. So they
are tended to be the real victim of such cases. If suspected of committing premarital sex or adultery
they are immediately killed to save the so called fake ‘honor’ of the family. Even if the women is not at
fault, for instance if she is a rape victim, even then she is the culprit that she was raped. The male
members of the family either kill the women or she is married away to the rapist to save the family
from any disgrace.
The criterion guided by the male members to their counterparts firmly establishes that they have to
behave and conduct themselves in a particular manner and any violation of those prescribed norms is
‘dishonour’ to the family and she is to repent that by her life. Statistics reveals that internationally
every year 1 out of every 5 cases of honour killing has found its pre-dominance in India. The general
view about the honour killing is that it happens generally in village but that is not the truth. Even in
the metropolitan cities like Delhi and Mumbai, these sorts of cases are prevalent. Aggrieved party has
no other option except to knocking the door of the court of law for justice to be done.
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Looking into a very controversial conviction of Noida based Dentist couple for double murder of a 14
year old schoo