As many as 1,957 incidents of honour killings have been recorded in Pakistan over the past four years, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan data.
The latest of the honour killing incidents took place in Gujrat area of Punjab where two foreign national sisters were killed by their uncle on the matter of cousin force marriage.
Unfortunately, this is not new in Pakistan, and like hundreds of other such cases reported every year all across Pakistan, the perpetrators of these crimes will almost never be brought to justice.
On average, as many as 500 women and girls are murdered in honour killing incidents each year, making Pakistan one of the most dangerous countries for women. These victims are not just statistics: they are mothers, daughters, and sisters.
The data states that the average rate of honour killing in women between 15-64 years was found to be 15 per million women per year. This may be yet another dubious world distinction we have.
A survey of such cases conducted by a local NGO ‘Sindh Suhai Sath’ has revealed that as many as 176 people — 48 men and 128 women — were killed across Sindh by their immediate families last year.
