PAKISTAN: KILLING IN THE NAME OF HONOUR

April 21, 2004 – (OMCT Appeal)The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Pakistan.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Asian Human Rights Commission, a member of the OMCT network, of the killing in the name of honour of a 36-year-old woman named Hazooran, a housewife, married with 4 children in Pakistan.

According to the information received, on 14 April 2004, Hazooran was killed by her husband, Gulshan Ali, son of Khabar, of Jeho Caste, and Dilawar, the brother of the accused, in Drakhan Village, Garhi Yaseen Town, Shikarpur District, Sindh Province. It has been reported that Gulshan Ali has killed his wife in the name of honour.

According to the information received on 13 April 2004, the brother of the victim, Ali Sher, his maternal cousin, Allah Wadhayo, and his friend, Ghulam, went together to Hazooran’s house to visit her. After they arrived, they found that Hazooran and her husband, Gulshan, had had a quarrel on a domestic matter and were angry with each other.

Ali Sher, Ghulam and Allah stayed there for the night because it was too late to go home to Taraai Village. The next morning (14 April 2004), they woke up early to leave for their village. But at about 6.30 am, Hazooran and her husband Gulshan started to quarrel again. Gulshan verbally abused his wife. The victim’s brother asked him not to use such language with his wife, but Gulshan became furious, and with his brother Dilawar, they started to beat Hazooran. Ali Sher, Allah and Ghulam tried to stop him, but drew a gun and shot Hazooran in the stomach. She bled to death. Then, Gulshan and his brother fled, warning that they would shot Ali, Allah and Ghulam if they tried to follow.

According to the information received, the victim's brother went to lodge a complaint (Case No. 27/04 Section 302-34 PPC) within two hours after the incident, at around 8.30 am on the 14 April 2004, at the Drakhan Police Station. While the FIR asserts that the quarrel with Gulshan was the cause of death, the brother of the victim asserts that it was a killing in the name of honour. The two offenders have reportedly not yet been arrested.

Crimes against women and girls committed in the name of honour are gender-specific forms of violence that are either approved or supported by States in many parts of the world. OMCT is gravely concerned by the many reports it has received in the past months on women in Pakistan who are killed by their family members as they are suspected of having committed adultery (see also OMCT’s urgent appeals of this year: PAK 120204 VAW, 230304 VAW and 080404 VAW. CC).

According to the information received, male relatives who commit such murders in Pakistan are rarely prosecuted in traditional communities. It appears that behaviour of women which is seen as compromising "family honour" is considered a valid reason to commit murder.

The information also indicates that cases of crimes committed in the name of honour are generally ruled by the landlords (Jirga-tribal court) in the Sindh Province rather than by the courts of law. The victim's families are generally not pursuing the cases at the courts of law due to the costly and lengthy process of getting justice through the government’s judicial system, while the traditional justice system (Jirga-tribal court) arrives at a settlement within a few days.

This traditional system has been practiced for a long time and it is commonly accepted. However, most of the cases under the tribal court are disposed compoundable under the Ordinance of Qisas and Dayat, whereby the offender can escape punishment by providing compensation to the victim's family. In many cases of honour crimes, the victim’s family often compromises with the accused, after receiving pressure from society.

OMCT firmly condemns these killings in the name of honour and calls upon the government of Pakistan to investigate, prosecute and punish the perpetrators with due diligence. OMCT recalls that the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, in article 4(c), states that States should "exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons."

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Pakistan urging them to:
i. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of this killing, in order to identify those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;

ii. ensure that the prohibition of killings in the name of honour is strictly respected, that due diligence is exercised in the prevention and investigation of crimes committed in the name of honour and in the punishment of the perpetrators;

iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.


Addresses

· President, Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan Secretariat, Islamabad, Pakistan, Fax: + 92 51 9224768 / 9224836 , E-mail: CE@pak.gov.pk

· Syed Sultan Shah, Joint Secretary for Law, Justice and Human Rights, Fax: + 92 51 9203119
· Hon. Mr. Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan, Governor Govt. of Sindh, Governor House Karachi, Tel: +92 21 9201201-3, E-mail: governor@governorsindh.gov.pk

· Mr. Sayed Kamal Shah, Provincial Police Officer, Sindh Police, Central Police Office Karachi, Tel: +92 21 9212626-7, Fax: +92 21 9212051

· Mr. Rahoo Khan Brohi, Regional Police Officer, Sukkur Region, Airport Road Sukkur, Tel: +92 71 30547, 30248, Fax: +92 71 31824

Please also write to the embassies of Pakistan in your respective country.
Geneva, April 22, 2004

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

From OMCT Appeal