No Honor in Honour Killings

Honor killings or Honour killings is a condemnable phenomenon that is rapidly on the rise in Asian countries primarily and most acutely seen in India and Indian expat families. Honour killings means killing a family or clan member in the name of family pride or protecting one's family's honour. Such killings are sadly on the rise as more and more couples marry outside their caste (as in the case of India) or against their family wishes. 

But marriage against family's wishes is one aspect of honour killing. There can be different motives behind such a ghastly act, some of which are:

• Marrying outside own caste or inter-caste marriage. This is the main reason for honour killings in Indian states like Haryana and Punjab. Haryana has reported the highest cases of honor killings in India and is regularly in the news for such kind of killings.
• Marrying within own clan or intra-Gotra marriage. Gotra in Hinduism refers to descendants of common, often mythical, ancestor and all such descendants are regarded as siblings. Numerous cases of honour killings in Haryana relate to intra-Gotra marriages. Remember, people belonging to same gotra are from the same caste but such marriages are seen as marriages between siblings and hence such killings in the name of family pride.
• Inter-religious marriage. Cases of honor killings have been reported among Asians from countries like UK where marriages between Hindus and Muslims have led to animosity between families and one of them killing either own member or the opposite family's member or both.
• Courtship also has led to honour killings. If you thought only marriage has invited the wrath of family members, think again. Merely falling in love has also resulted in numerous cases of honour killings in India, Pakistan and other countries.
• To control female sexuality. Many countries have witnessed honour killings in the garb of controlling the female's right of sexual freedom and sex with a person against the family's consent has led to cold blooded murders.
• For asserting independence. Many young women are killed every year among Hindus and Muslims for not obeying their husbands wishes or their family's. For living a modern and independent existence and for making their own decisions in their daily lives.

According to this article in the Asian Age, India has reported over 1,000 cases of honour killings every year. And 900 incidents of such honor killings are reported from three Indian states alone: Haryana, Punjab, and U.P.

Of course such figures are on the lower side as many cases of honour killings go unreported as family members involved in such murders report them as natural deaths to escape punishment. Also, many times the police is hand-in-gloves with the perpetrators and either do not register the complaints or falsely label such killings as personal animosity, suicide, natural deaths, accidents but not honour killings, which they really are. 

Take the case of Nirupama Pathak, a New Delhi-based journalist (no less) and Brahmin by caste who was pregnant by her lover and colleague, a "lower caste" (according to Hindu beliefs) person, and wanted to marry him. But after all attempts at "reasoning" or brain washing by her family proved futile, she was held captive by her mother, Sudha Pathak, and later murdered through asphyxiation.  

Der Spiegel, a weekly German magazine, reported in 2005 that six Muslim women living in Berlin were murdered by family members for different reasons like not staying with one's husband, for living like a German (read with freedom, open mindedness and independence), for marrying against family's wishes etc.