EDITORIAL: A disturbing surge in gender-based murders, often justified under the pretext of preserving family honour — referred to as karo-kari in Sindh — has once again exposed the deeply entrenched patriarchal norms and the state’s persistent failure to enforce laws designed to protect vulnerable citizens, particularly women.
According to a press report, 142 people were murdered in Sindh in the first nine months of this year alone in the name of family honour. Of these, 105 were girls and women — killed not by strangers, but by their own husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, and other relatives. Many of the victims were accused of illicit relationships or of marrying without the consent of their families.
This wave of gender-based violence has prompted serious concern from civil society and human rights organisations, which have long warned of the culture of impunity surrounding karo-kari. The scale of these killings is not only deeply disturbing; it is a national shame.
While Pakistan made legislative progress with the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 2016 — meant to close loopholes that allowed perpetrators to avoid punishment by invoking the Qisas and Diyat law to secure pardons from the victims’ close family — enforcement remains extremely weak. Notably, the 2016 law declared the purported ‘honour killings’ as non-compoundable offences and explicitly classified them as murder.
Yet nine years later, this abhorrent practice continues largely unchecked, especially in rural and tribal areas where customary traditions often override formal law. This gap between law and enforcement is stark. More often than not, police investigations are half-hearted compromised by local influence, or hindered by community reluctance to cooperate.
In some cases, village or tribal jirgas themselves order such killings, further legitimising violence on behalf of honour. When cases do make it to courts, conviction rates remain dismally low, emboldening potential perpetrators and reinforcing the perception that the state does not take these crimes seriously.
It is clear that karo-kari — known by different names in other provinces — reflects a wider cultural malaise in which women are seen as male property and their autonomy as a threat. That must change. The role of jirgas in enabling and endorsing gender-based violence needs to be brought to an end through a robust legal and administrative action. There must be zero tolerance for these toxic norms.
The media, religious leaders, and educators all have important roles to play in reshaping societal attitudes and rejecting the false notion of ‘honour’ linked to such brutality. For this country to move forward as a just and equitable society, the scourge of honour killings has to be confronted with unwavering political will, effective law enforcement, and a strong commitment to upholding fairness and human dignity for all —free from any manifestation of bias.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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