Honor Killings
in Pakistan
The Muslim Women's League strongly condemns any and
all honor killings as being completely inconsistent
with the teachings of Islam. The recent case in
Pakistan where Nazir Ahmed murdered his 25 year old
stepdaughter and 3 daughters (all under the age of
9) is an aberration, reflecting the actions of a
deranged, mentally unstable individual ("Honor
killings shock Pakistan," 12/28/2005, Associated
Press). However, the general devaluation of female
children along with the culturally acceptable notion
that women bear the burden of honor for their entire
family create an environment where such a heinous
act could occur.
In addition,
children, both male and female, are guaranteed
basic rights in Islam including the right of
safety and security. According to Islamic law,
or Shari'a, children are not considered
accountable for their deeds in a legal or moral
sense until after they complete puberty. In
addition, individual members of society are not
allowed to take the law into their own hands and
render punishment regardless of whether a crime
has been committed or not. Therefore, the murder
of these young girls in Pakistan can be viewed
only as a horrible homicide for which their
father should be punished under the full extent
of the law.
Religious illiteracy
is a pervasive problem in the Muslim world that
allows for crimes like this to be erroneously
justified by Islam. The Muslim Women's League
calls upon the religious leaders of Pakistan and
other Muslim countries to begin a campaign of
religious education of their people, emphasizing the
principles of equality, justice and accountability
as expressed in the Qur'an.
