Pakistan adopts new law to tackle honour killings

Pakistani men who kill their female relatives in the name of honour will no longer be able to evade punishment after the country’s parliament finally passed long-promised legislation.

The bill passed on Thursday ensures the killers will get a mandatory life sentence.

Previously, killers could be pardoned by a victim’s family to avoid a jail term. Now forgiveness will only spare them the death penalty.

Often justified by reference to “tribal traditions”, so-called honour killings are a daily occurrence in Pakistan. They are usually motivated by a victim’s choice of partner for marriage, a love affair, or when a woman is raped and consequently considered a disgrace to the family. The vast majority of victims are female.

Between 500 and 1,000 cases are reported every year. Activists say the true number of such crimes is closer to 12,000.

Sughra Imam, the former senator who first introduced the bill said the new law was a step forward.

She said: “The original bill was more stringent, but nonetheless, the new law will deter honour killings in the future because perpetrators will not be able to avoid convictions.”

In recent months, a number of high-profile deaths have made headlines both in Pakistan and abroad, including the killing of British woman Samia Shahid in July, allegedly by her father and her former husband.

The same month, Pakistani social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch was strangled to death, allegedly killed by her brother in the province of Punjab.

Pakistani activist and filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid - who won an Oscar earlier this year for a documentary on “honour killings” -- paid tribute to the people who had worked to get the bill through.

Image: A Pakistani woman holds a placard during a protest against honour killing in Multan. Photograph: Asim Tanvir MK/LA/Reuters