Shahrukh .N. Taghvaei
Honour killing in india
An “honour killing” is a murder committed against a woman for
actual or perceived “immoral” behaviour that is deemed to have breached the
‘honour code’ of a household or community. These so called ‘honour codes’ are
the product of deeply rooted patriarchal social and cultural prejudices,
whereby women are perceived and forced to bear all responsibility for
maintaining communal honour. ‘Honour killings’ are an extreme and brutal abuse
of human rights, violating the most basic of human rights—the right to life—as
well as every other article in the International Convention on Human Rights
(1948). The aim of the present essay is two-fold. Firstly we intend to show
that what actually an ‘honour killing’ means and what are the reasons behind
its occurrence. Also we will discuss about the position of International Law
over ‘Honour Killing’. Secondly, we will be going to see that what are the
various laws are present instantly in the country against the ‘honour killing’
and will try to find what more laws ought to be there to stop such a heinous
crime.
Cultural crimes are basically the crimes that seek to place
within the context of culture or under the head of it. As we all know recently;
there has been a spate of honour killings which has shocked the country. Honour
killing is one of the types of cultural crime present in the country. An honour
killing (also called a customary killing) is the murder of a (typically female)
family or clan member by one or more fellow (mostly male) family members, in
which the perpetrators (and potentially the wider community) believe the victim
to have brought dishonour upon the family, clan, or community.
The aim of the present essay is two-fold. Firstly we intend
to show that what actually an ‘honour killing’ means and what are the reasons
behind its occurrence. Also we will discuss about the position of International
Law over ‘Honour Killing’. Secondly, we will be going to see that what are the
various laws are present instantly in the country against the ‘honour killing’
and will try to find what more laws ought to be there to stop such a heinous
crime.
The present essay is divided into three parts. The first part
deals briefly with the meaning of honour killing and the reasons behind it.
Further in the second part the author had discussed the laws present and
proposed for the stoppage of ‘honour killing’ with the help of judicial
decisions. Also the International Law on Human rights is discussed with
reference to Honour Killing and various countries position is also discussed
over it. The third and the last part of the paper describes about the
possibility of various other laws and rules which ought to be there for the
‘honour killing’.
Human Rights Watch defines "honour killings" as the
acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members against
female family members, who are held to have brought dishonour upon the family.
A woman can be targeted by (individuals within) her family for a variety of
reasons, including: refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, being the
victim of a sexual assault, seeking a divorce—even from an abusive husband—or
(allegedly) committing adultery. The mere perception that a woman has behaved
in a way that "dishonours" her family is sufficient to trigger an
attack on her life.
Thus an honour killing (also called a customary killing), can
be said as the murder of a member of a family or social group by other members,
due to the belief of the perpetrators (and potentially the wider community)
that the victim has brought dishonour upon the family or community. Hence a murder committed in order to save
what is considered in a specific culture the “honour” of one’s family against
the shame caused by another member of the family could be termed as the honour
killing.
The main reason for commitment of an ‘honour killing’ is
belief that any member of family had brought dishonour to the family. The
dishonour can be of different types for different families. The perceived
dishonour is normally the result of the following behaviours, or the suspicion
of such behaviours, which are dress codes unacceptable to the family/community;
or wanting to terminate or prevent an arranged marriage or desiring to marry by
own choice; or engaging in certain sexual acts, including those with the
opposite or same sex, etc.
Also the most obvious reason for this practice to continue in
India is because of the fact that the caste system continues to be at its rigid
best and also because people from the rural areas refuse to change their
attitude to marriage. Also in our country the society is mainly the
patriarchal. Men are expected to enforce such norms and traditions and protect
family and male honour from shame. Women are expected to conduct themselves
honourably. This understanding of the notion gives legitimacy to all forms of
social regulation of women’s behaviour and to violence committed against them.
So far, there is no specific law to deal with honour
killings. The murders come under the general categories of homicide or
manslaughter. Sometimes the honour killings are also done by a mob and so when
a mob has carried out such attacks, it becomes difficult to pinpoint a culprit.
The collection of evidence becomes tricky and eyewitnesses are never
forthcoming. But ‘Honour Killings’ are against International Law on Human
Rights and against United Nation agendas. But still even though we don’t have
any law to deal with it specifically in India but we have judicial precedence
over it. There are also some bills which are in the latent stage against the
honour killings, which are planned to be introduced in the parliament sooner. As we have seen that the
government is going to amend the Indian Penal Code, 1862, for the honour
killing. But if we watch closely our Constitution and Indian Penal Code, 1862,
we can see that they are in itself sufficient to combat with the ‘honour
killing’. As we already know that ‘honour killing’ are not so different from
the homicide; so we have already the following sections of Indian Penal Code,
1862, to punish the perpetrators behind the honour killings.
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