Parents of Qandeel Baloch, a high-profile model who was strangulated to death in the name of family honour by her two brothers, had asked a Multan trial court hearing the case for the acquittal of their sons, saying they had pardoned them. Unsurprisingly, the court has rejected their appeal since under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2016, offences committed in the name or pretext of honour, are to be treated like any other murder case. Notably, such crimes have almost always been premeditated murders committed by brothers, fathers, or uncles secure in the knowledge that they could escape punishment on the basis of pardon granted by the other next of kin. There is a loophole in the law, though. An accused can still claim the so-called honour killing to be a simple murder and receive forgiveness from the victim's relatives. It is worth noting that, in their appeal, Qandeel's parents claimed that she was not murdered for the sake of family honour. That has not helped them because in their earlier statement they had described it as an honour killing.
Laws alone do not serve as an effective deterrent against crimes. In fact, since the passage of the anti-honour killing law, countless women have been killed only for contracting a marriage of choice, something permitted under the law. Just last April, a woman and her husband were gunned down in Gujranwala for getting married against the wishes of her family. Not long ago, in a similar case a woman was bashed to death by her relatives on the Lahore High Court premises in the presence of police who made no effort to intervene in 'a family matter'. What prevented them from protecting her obviously was a common social prejudice, which sanctifies so-called honour killings. Most people in this country derive such heartless anti-women attitudes from the patriarchal culture which regards women as mere possessions of their male relatives with no right to make independent decisions about their lives, such as who to marry, and whether or not to acquire education or pursue professional careers. These deeply ingrained attitudes will not change, have not changed, despite laws offering them protections against various forms of violence.
Positive change in behaviour will come when people are better sensitized about women's rights as equal beings. The media has a big role to play in this regard. Unfortunately, vernacular press continues to perpetuate anti-women prejudices. The so-called honour killings are reported in a sensational manner and in words that carry hints of sympathy for the killers. Representative bodies of media organisations need to take notice of this unsavoury practice and provide with guidance on reporting such cases in an objective manner, and also the use of language which must not encourage violence against women.