Read these:
One of the most notorious "honour" killings of recent years occurred in April 1999, when Samia Imran, a young married woman, "was shot in the office of a lawyer helping her to seek a divorce which her family could never countenance." According to Suzanne Goldenberg,
Samia, 28, arrived at the Lahore law offices of Hina Jilani and Asma Jahangir, who are sisters, on April 6. She had engaged Jilani a few days earlier, because she wanted a divorce from her violent husband. Samia settled on a chair across the desk from the lawyer. Sultana, Samia's mother, entered five minutes later with a male companion. Samia half-rose in greeting. The man, Habib-ur-Rhemna, grabbed Samia and put a pistol to her head. The first bullet entered near Samia's eye and she fell. "There was no scream. There was dead silence. I don't even think she knew what was happening," Jilani said. The killer stood over Samia's body, and fired again. Jilani reached for the alarm button as the gunman and Sultana left. "She never even bothered to look whether the girl was dead."
The aftermath of the murder was equally revealing: "Members of Pakistan's upper house demanded punishment for the two women [lawyers] and none of Pakistan's political leaders condemned the attack. ... The clergy in Peshawar want the lawyers to be put to death" for trying to help Imran. (Suzanne Goldenberg, "A Question of Honor," The Guardian (UK), May 27, 1999.)
On Oct. 16, 1995, ... Hassoon got out of a car with her younger brother on a main street of Daliat al Carmel, a small Israeli Druze village ... Over 10 years before, Ittihaj had committed the unpardonable sin of marrying a non-Druze man. Now, after luring her back to her home village with promises that all was forgiven and her safety assured, her brother finally had the chance to publicly cleanse the blot on the family name with the spilling of her blood. In broad daylight in front of witnesses, he pulled out a knife and began to stab her. The witnesses quickly swelled to a crowd of more than 100 villagers who -- approving, urging him on -- chanted, ululated, danced in the street. Within minutes, Hassoon lay dead on the ground while the crowd cheered her killer, "Hero, hero! You are a real man!" (Suzanne Zima, "When Brothers Kill Sisters," The Gazette [Montreal], April 17, 1999. See also Walter Rodgers, "Honor Killings: A Brutal Tribal Custom", CNN World News, December 7, 1995.)- Israel/Palestine
India is no exception to the above act of inhumanity!
India is still in the past notwithstanding the developments and the advances in various fields of science and technology. At this point many may raise a brow and allege that it is just written out of ignorance of the developments that have put our country on the "Most Wanted"list of the world map and that the country has considerably advanced economically after LPG.
True.
But, how can we ignore those practices which have also put us in the lime light for not advancing our thoughts and changing with the changing times?
Of all the thoughts and practices, the most gruesome is butchering of own kids for not toeing in line with the traditional and cultural values and running away with their loved ones- how insane is that??? is it a problem of some families or is it that this runs as a disciplinary act in the blood of those people who claim themselves to be the upholders of the moral and traditional values of the society in which they live since ages?
Despite the fact that Supreme Court ruled this act as rarest of the rare acts and pronounced death for the parents or kin who dared to kill their own for the honour in society,the sentence seems to fall flat on the deaf and dumbest parents who dare to repeat the acts with least thoughts.
Some years ago, I heard that Pakistan and other countries practised this act of killing own son/daughter/brother/sister/nephew/niece for the very reason that they dared to marry some one outside their community or against their wishes and now since some time, I hear the same happening in our country especially in the northern parts,where it is assumed that the lifestyles have aped the western culture well. then, where does this damn culture of slitting of throats or putting the lives of the young ones to the edge of the sword come from?
What is shameful is the fact that these are more planned than out of impulse. What sort of parenting is this? If the children commit mistakes its upon the parents to counsel them and show them the right path instead of drawing swords and slicing them for the act of choosing partners without parental consent. Now coming to the point of Honour in the society, I would ask one question as Jesus asked when a mass of people got ready to punish the lady whom they considered impure : he who has not committed a sin,may punish the sinner!"
If choosing a partner is a sin,then,did not the parents commit any sin during their life time which perhaps would be the best kept secret during their life time.
What is required here is not a directive from the Supreme Court or a death penalty but a public punishment for all who dare to commit this sin of killing their own child for what so ever reason- kill these bunch of wise fools every day by making them realise what they have done does not add to the prestige or honour but makes them criminals in the eyes of the country men/folk and the world as a whole.
The death should be tragic and more gruesome than the pain the children must have felt with every stab or shot from their own people, the heart should feel more pain than what the children would have felt to have been killed by the one's whom they lived with since birth and death should not be so easy for those who dare to plan it for their own blood. This all comes from my heart which loathes these acts of unwise incorrigible stupid bunch of animals which are devoid of a heart and least know what love is.
What I wish as an ode to the dead innocent fellows is that we should come up,revolt against this practice and try to bury this crap alive! It perhaps started with a society and should end with that and not creep into the veins of those who are educated and know the difference between humanity and barbarianism!
for a better understanding of this heart wrenching practice click on the link below:
Sorry for those who perhaps cannot bear with the gory incidents mentioned from different sources only to highlight what it is like in other parts of the world and that we need to stand up against this barbarian act!
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