I am very fortunate that Helen Thurloe, an Australian author, interviewed me when developing the Pakistani cultural background of her fiction book, Promising Azra. This book featured the story of a young Pakistani girl, Azra, who goes to a Sydney high school dreaming of future studies in chemistry while her parents have arranged her hand in marriage to her older cousin in Pakistan. Although this story is fictional, it is based on real events such as forced marriages, honour killings and domestic violence which are all very real and happening around us.
An ‘honour killing’ is a murder, usually of a female by her male relatives, in recognition of bringing shame or dishonour to the family name. According to the Pakistani Human Rights Commission, over 470 cases of honour killings were reported in Pakistan in 2021 alone, but many more go unreported. The Honour Based Violence Awareness Network estimates that 1,000 women are murdered in the name of honour every year.
As a young Pakistani feminist living in Australia, when I first came across the term ‘honour killing’, I was horrified. I began to look into these outrageous attacks, especially within Pakistani society. I couldn’t believe that such a hideous crime of murder in the name of family honour was still occurring in the 21st century.
Honour killings happen worldwide: many of these incidents are based on religious and cultural grounds in predominantly patriarchal societies. Pakistan especially holds strong patriarchal beliefs and honour killings, locally known as karo-kari, continue to be a common occurrence. Many victims are targeted by their families for reasons including refusing an arranged marriage, being victims of a sexual assault, or seeking a divorce — even from an abusive husband. They can also be persecuted for the mere perception that they have “dishonoured” the family, for example, by talking on a cell phone or dancing at a wedding.
Gender-based discrimination and violence is supposedly shunned in Australian society, however many countries have cultural values and belief systems that may make it difficult to challenge. Murders in the name of honour or izzat, are a part of the cultural value system in which family honour is valued more than anything — this makes it difficult to challenge. In educated and affluent Pakistani families, we can see people opposing this custom with the majority of the younger generation also moving away from the custom. However, women within the community, including the female family of victims, support such acts — perhaps out of fear of their own safety, to support long-standing traditions or to keep the peace amongst the community.
While many Australians consider honour killings a distant abomination, the shame-based ideology and gendered power dynamics behind them are still prevalent here. Many honour killings that have been covered by media outlets have occurred in Western countries. For example, a 17-year-old Pakistani girl in the U.K., Shafilea Ahmed, was murdered by her parents on September 11th, 2003, due to her refusal of a marriage. A more recent event that is still circulating in Australian news, was the November 2021 honour killing of a 21-year-old woman, who was stabbed by her family members at a shopping centre car park in Adelaide. Australia, being a multicultural, diverse and predominantly migrant society, must have greater awareness of honour killings so that we can stop such attacks, save lives and remove the notion of honour from these acts. The two-pronged strategy of raising awareness of these attacks within the community and the empowerment to speak up when we see the initial red flags is paramount. How many more of these violent acts of crime do we have to witness to challenge the argument of honour in these honour killings?
Lately, many films and books have been adapted to raise awareness of honour-based violence. I recently watched Dukhtar or Daughter, an award-winning Pakistani film that explores the world of forced marriages, child brides and honour killings set in the backdrop of rural northern Pakistan. In this film a young girl is forced to marry a tribal leader, amidst the awe of the beautiful mountains in the background a man-hunt begins when the child and her mother try to flee. There is also a short documentary produced by filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy titled Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, which is based on the case of 19-year-old Saba Qaiser, whose father and uncle shot her in the face and threw her in the river because she married without her family’s consent.
Pakistani television dramas also depict honour killings to raise awareness of these issues, such as Baaghi, (meaning Rebel) based on the honour killing of a Pakistani social media star, Qandeel Baloch, by her own brother in July 2016. Her brother, Waseem Azeem, proudly and publicly confessed at the time to drugging and strangling her for dishonouring their family. The show challenged patriarchy, misogyny and conservative norms. These are just a few I have come across, however there are many more examples. I believe that increased awareness on speaking up before it’s too late is the best strategy we have to stop honour killings and domestic violence on a national level.
Gender violence and discrimination affects us all, especially if basic human rights such as safety and security are violated, and we are made to feel like we don’t belong in our communities. As a student community we are driven to empower each other to make a difference in our lives and the world around us. Women’s rights need proper recognition and gender-based violence against women must be stopped. The first step is to educate each other on seeking help and resources before it is too late.
If you or anyone you know is experiencing or at risk of domestic violence, please contact USyd’s student counselling service, the national domestic violence counsellor at 1800RESPECT, or the police at 000. Your safety should never be at risk.
