From Pakistan to Egypt, the echoes of honor killings drown weak legislation

No cries, no wailing, she walked calmly to the site, the position destined to be her place of stoning and the sharp and rapid piercing bullets ended her life in seconds. In a blink of an eye, her partner met the same fate. Their crime: living by choice.

On the eve of Eid-ul-Adha 2025, Baloch couple Ehsan Samalani and Bano Satakzai were lured back to their village in Degari, Balochistan. Hauled before a tribal jirga, they were executed. A distressing video captured their final scene, briefly flooding social media before vanishing into a pattern all too familiar.

This was not an isolated tragedy. It was part of a long, brutal tradition. From Dua Khalil, stoned in Iraq (2007), to Mona Heydari, beheaded by her husband in Iran (2022), to Fatemeh Soltani, stabbed by her father outside a salon in Iran (2025), and Radhika Yadav, an Indian tennis coach strangled by her father in Haryana (2025), the message remains consistent: in too many places, a family’s “honor” still outweighs a woman’s life

“She brought dishonor. So, she had to die.” The words, or variations of them, echo across deserts and cities alike, from the mountains of Balochistan to the alleys of Baghdad. Yet one might ask, as Pakistani poet Fahmida Riaz once did: “What honor is there in a dishonorable act? “What twisted code cloaks murder as virtue?

Honor killings are not allowed in any religion, but they thrive under the pretext of distorted cultural norms and archaic tribal codes. The practice predates Islam, stretching back to pre-Islamic Arab, Roman, and South Asian societies, where women’s bodies were seen as vessels for familial purity. The modern form survives where tribal authority eclipses state law, and machismo is measured by the ability to control female agency.

It is false that honor killings are confined to rural, uneducated areas. They also occur in cities, educated households, and diaspora communities.

Dr. Syed Kaleem Imam
 

In Pakistan, the practice assumes different names: Karo-Kari in Sindh (literally “blackened man/woman”), Siya Kari in Balochistan, and Tor Tora in Pashtun regions. These euphemisms serve to sanitize what is, at its core, murder for perceived moral transgressions. In some cases, girls are forcibly married off to settle disputes which is another form of violence disguised as honor and expediency.

In Iraq, honor killings are often legitimized under tribal or customary law. Jordanian courts have historically imposed reduced sentences in such cases, and although legal reforms, such as the amendment of Article 98 of the Penal Code have aimed to eliminate these leniencies, enforcement remains inconsistent.

The Palestinian territories, the Kurdistan region across Iraq, Iran and Turkiye, and Lebanon have adopted similar reforms that remain under-implemented due to social acceptance of the practice.

In Iran, a father or paternal grandfather can be exempt from retribution in kind for killing their child or grandchild. This legal provision effectively grants near impunity for fathers who murder daughters, treating such crimes as lesser offenses.

Pakistan criminalized honor killings through the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2016, intending to make these crimes non-compoundable, meaning the family could not legally forgive the murderer. In practice however, loopholes persist. Discretionary sentencing and communal pressure on police often neutralize the law’s intended impact.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, over 300 honor killings are reported annually, although the real number is likely higher due to disguised suicides or misreported accidents. Across Iran, Iraq, Egypt, and Jordan, the narrative is often sanitized into terms like “family dispute” or “personal matter.”

But several myths continue to sustain this cruelty. First, while women are the primary victims, the reality is that men too are often killed. Second, these are not crimes of passion, these are often premeditated and sanctioned by family councils. Third, no religion mandates honor killings. Lastly, it is false that honor killings are confined to rural, uneducated areas. They also occur in cities, educated households, and diaspora communities.

If the state is sincere in ending honor killings, symbolic legislation is not enough. First, all such killings must be treated as fully non-compoundable. Murder should not be a negotiable offense. Second, robust witness protection mechanisms must be implemented. Third, courts and prosecutors must classify each case as a human rights violation, not a cultural dispute. Fourth, education is essential: religious leaders, tribal elders, teachers and police must all denounce these acts clearly and repeatedly. Fifth, informal justice systems like jirgas practiced generally as ADR, not be allowed to pass any decision, contravening the constitution, or laws of the land.

A 2020 UN Women study found that where state justice systems were accessible and well-publicized, reporting increased and public support for informal justice declined.

There is no honor in an honor killing. Rather, it is the ultimate dishonor to both the victim and society. Until South Asia and the Middle East confront both the mindset and legal shields that enable crimes like honor killings, sons and daughters will keep dying and it will still be called ‘tradition.’

– The writer is a former federal secretary/IGP- PhD in Politics and IR-teaching Law and Philosophy at Universities. He tweets@Kaleemimam. Email:[email protected]: fb@syedkaleemimam