The forced marriage and honour killings have been on the rise in Pakistan at an alarming rate. The most disturbing fact about such serious crimes is that they seldom lead to effective judicial interventions. Law enforcing agencies seem to show that they do not take these crimes as seriously as they should be treated. Consequently, these acts have been slowly made a norm and the victims still remain silent.
When we consider various provinces of Pakistan. It becomes clear that under the pretext of so called family honour. Children, particularly, girls are forcibly married off, against their own choice as to the people with whom they have no association. In other instances, they are forced to marry persons they do not approve; in other instances, they are denied the simplest right of life. This is done all to preserve a sense of pride that is not true and a false idea of honour.
The system of the wadera or feudalism that was mostly practiced in rural areas of Pakistan has also contributed to this crisis. These people usually have absolute power over issues concerning life and death because of the power and unilateral control they exercise. They are powerful and have connections and influence that discourages the police intervention and leaves victims unguarded.
There is the fear of retaliation so that families do not file complaints and the law enforcement agencies are either quiet or passive observers. Through this, many lives are lost without any form of responsibility, which supports the notion that honour-based violence is superior to the law.
This subjugation is not inflicted on girls only, boys also become a victim of the same system. Boys are grown in an atmosphere where they are not given the right to think freely, they are not given the freedom to make choices and to choose a life partner of their own choice since when they are young. They are made to learn that it is an honourless thing to defy the family choices and even when they have their own wishes, they are as well considered as criminals in their own families.
One of such families needs to be mentioned in which the fear has induced not just the victims but even other neighbouring individuals either to silence or to emigrate. The women in this family system have no access to education and in the event that a girl dares to acquire education, she is forcedly married off to a physically handicapped or a mentally challenged man. This brutality is supported by the fact that such a man is the heir of family property and the woman has to stay imprisoned in the family circle.
Likewise, there is the persistence of boys to comply with the decisions of the family without doubt. They are not allowed to connect with people outside the family or even get married on their own choice because they are constantly informed that it is a crime to think outside the family tradition and inheritance.
Due to such practices in the family, many innocent lives have been lost. The women are mercilessly murdered and in some cases even the husband is brutally murdered in cases of love marriage. The tragedy lies in the fact that even in the cases of such recurring incidences, no First Information Report (FIR) is registered, and no legal action is taken in any meaning.
The attackers move about at will, and justice is nothing but a mirage to the victims. This is a case that is very serious to the society and the state. As long as the law is not enforced equally and crimes against honour are not classified as crimes that demand serious penalties, this tragedy will persist.
The society desperately needs to overcome its silence, to view women and men as human beings, and to ensure the state plays its part so that each person can be given the right to live, to learn and to make their own choice to live without the influence of the state.
Honour killings and forced marriages are not the culture but severe human rights abuses flourishing on silence, fear and abuse of power. Till the domination of influential feudal systems and tribal government and unrestricted dominance are placed before the rule of the law, there will be no access to justice even by the most vulnerable.
These practices need to be criticized by the state, the judiciary, the media and civil society as well as guarantee accountability and safeguard them when they want to stand up and be heard. The termination of these crimes is not just a question of life saving but rather of redefining honour into dignity, choice and humanity. Unless urgent measures are taken, many more lives will be lost to the traditions, which are simply not a part of just and civilized society.
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