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HONOUR KILLING: A NATIONAL OUTCRY

Ms.V.Jeya Santhi1, Miss.S.Mayeleswari2, Miss.R.Abirami3

1Assistant Professor, 2M.Phil. Scholar, 3II B.A., ResearchCentre in English,

V.H.N. Senthikumara Nadar College (Autonomous), Virudhunagar

ABSTRACT

Twenty first century, known for guarantee of rights of

each and every individual, has been facing a major crisis in

the name of honour killing. The male dominant society has its

deep root in the Indian caste system with its claim and target

as women. History tells us that child marriage and denial of

love marriage with an outsider, especially with a boy of low

caste or community has been the result of retaining the

family’s wealth within their family. Parents, instead of being

well-wisher of their children voluntarily kill their daughter

to avoid shame falling on their family. This paper highlights

the problems associated with honour killing; and it brings out

practical solutions to lessen this evil so as to secure

women’s rights without deviating from tradition.

Key words: patriarchy, denial of women’s rights, voluntarykillings, women’s security.

(Selected as one of the Best 6 Papers in the NationalSymposium on “Preserving the Ethos of India’s Humanity – HumanRights Issues” held on 25th November 2013 at Ethiraj Collegefor Women, Chennai.

1. HONOUR KILLING: A GLOBAL PROBLEM

Twenty first century, known for guarantee of rights of

each and every individual, has been facing a major crisis in

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the name of honour killing. Honour violence occurs worldwide,

from South America to Asia. The statistical data of how many

men and women have lost their lives in the name of ‘honour’ is

unknown. It exceeds more than thousands. But the majority of

victims are women; only seven percent are men. According to

the United Nations Populations Fund, an estimated 5000 women

and girls are murdered every year in the so- called honour

killings around the world. Now this issue has become a global

one and it is one of the burning topics to be concerned.

A life without honour is not worth living. Family honour

is the concept of how much they are respected within the

community and how much they view the quality of themselves

through conducts of every family member. So, ‘honor killings’

can be defined as acts of murder in which ‘a woman is killed

for her actual or perceived immoral behaviour’ (Hassan, 1999).

Calling a killing an “honour crime” itself is contradictory.

Hence, this paper is an attempt to analyze the problem in

depth and it is an effort to bring out possible solutions to

the present generation and to secure women’s rights without

deviating from tradition.

2. A REVIEW

Honour-based violence is a common occurrence within a

variety of cultures and communities (Faqir, 2001). The origin

of honour killings has its roots in the period of Hammurabi

and Assyrian tribes of 1200 B.C in which women’s purity was

considered an asset of their families. In India, honour crime

tradition was first noted during the partition of the country

between the years 1947 and 1950 in its most horrible form. To

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preserve the honour of the families, many women were

forcefully killed at that time. Honour killings are sometimes

linked with religious belief. But in reality, they are not

necessarily the outcomes of religious belief. They are

followed as old custom in Middle East and South West Asia.

Honour crimes are regarded as tradition in ancient Rome. They

are highly supported by the patriarchal social structure

(http://indiapulse.sulekha.com). Honour killings are a family

collaboration. Throughout the world, two-thirds of the victims

were killed by their own family members. History tells us that

child marriage and denial of love marriage with an outsider,

especially with a boy of low caste or community has been the

result of retaining the family’s wealth within their family.

Fathers played an active role in most of the killings. All the

female victims were tortured by the male members of their

family to the extreme which can’t be expected; and the men

whom they loved were killed. Though the motivation differs

based on codes of morality and behaviour, such practices are

reinforced by fundamentalist religious dictates (Phyllis

Chesler, p.3-11).

India has a very strong belief in the purity of the

family lineage and honour killing is an accepted ‘crime’

amongst few castiest groups of Northern and Eastern India.

When women disregard and contaminate that protected lineage,

they are sentenced to death by their own family members. This

‘killing culture’ seems to be on rise in Tamilnadu. In the

name of caste, religion and sex, lovers are killed or forced

to commit suicide (blogspot.com). We never imagine newspaper

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news or television news without honour crimes now-a-days. The

much spoken incident of Ilavarasan and Divya of Dharmapuri

Dalit village, Dharmender Barak and Nidhi Barak of Gharnavati,

Sasikala of Vilathoor in Ramanathapuram District, Dhanalakshmi

of Dharmapuram District, Sripriya of Tirupur District were few

examples and the list is extending. However, women might wish

to stay in their families rather than being separated by

reporting the issue to police. The striking point is that the

potential victims don’t want orders to be served on their

parents. They just want a way out of the situation. Research

from around the world points out that violence against women

can be combated only when there is a healthy partnership

between women, their own community system and state

authorities (Anand Kirti, p.353).

Keeping in view the above discussion, it is concluded

that honour crimes can be mitigated only when the community

itself involves beneficially through the empowerment of women

because the support of the community is the most needed one

for the successful implementation of any law and international

awareness.

3. WHY HONOUR KILLINGS HAPPEN?

The following behavior or suspicion of such behaviours

may result in honour killing: dressing in a manner

unacceptable to the family; wanting to terminate or prevent an

arranged marriage; desiring to marry by own choice; engaging

in heterosexual acts outside marriage and engaging in

homosexual acts. Losing the benefits that the families got

through their caste system make them commit this heinous

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crime. Judged heavily for such basic freedom as personal and

career choices, education, styles of dress, choice of friends

and even the number of children they wish to have, women who

have become victims of honor violence are trapped in a never-

ending cycle of self-denial. The sociologists believed that

the reason is the continued rigidity of the caste system. They

view honour killings as a frightened reaction to rapid social

change in India. The inability of the formal governance to

reach the rural areas also forms the root cause of this evil.

4. DEFECTIVE LAW AND CHALLENGES IN SOLVING THE ISSUE

Many countries have developed various policies to

decrease the number of honour crimes. National Commission for

Women (NCW), a statutory body for women was established in

1992 by the Government of India to protect the rights for

women under the provisions of the Indian Constitution. It is

supported by the Indian constitution and it focuses its

attention on seeking equal position in politics, jobs and fair

penalties for crimes (report by the Student Officer SuHyeon

Kim). As the result of the UN General Assembly Declaration,

the General Assembly appointed 25th November as the

‘International Day for the Elimination of Violence against

Women’ in 1999. The provisions of The Convention on the

Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women

(CEDAW) has reflected a fundamental shift in categorizing

violence in the family as a violation of women’s human rights

and rejecting the justification of violence against women on

the basis of custom or tradition (Anand Kirti, p.349).

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Indian Penal Code charges honour killing as a distinct

offence in 2009. In 2010, National Commission for Women

strongly argued that murder is not the solution for preserving

the honour of the family. As per Supreme Court directive 2011,

it is ‘the rarest of the rare crime and those perpetrating it

should be sent to the gallows’. “Caste panchayats (khaps) aid

and abet honour killings. Principal actors in such panchayats

need to be arrayed as accused and prosecuted for murder,” then

home minister P Chidambaram had already said the same idea in

the Rajya Sabha in July 2009. But the proposal hit a roadblock

following the differences within the Cabinet. In August 2010,

a group of ministers was allotted by the Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh to take views of the States on the subject.

Half of the 28 states did not send their views on the proposed

changes in the criminal laws to curb the crime. Many stood

back as it happened to become interference into personal

affairs. Even in 2000, it was decided by international human

rights institutions to exclude crimes of honour from their

agenda for action (Goonesekere, 2000). Now again, the G o M

headed by the Prime Minister is examining the latest report

by the Law Commission of India which recommended a two-year

jail term for the perpetrators (www.hindustantimes.com ).

The Casteist groups and political parties take this up as

their propaganda to retain their vote banks. The Akhil

Bharatiya Janwadi Mahila, the Democratic Youth Federation of

India, the Students Federation of India, the Democratic

Teachers Front, Jana Natya Manch and the Jan Sanskriti were

emboldened by the government's tentative and unprincipled

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approach to tackling such crimes. The government’s inaction to

restrain this practice is really a shocking one.

5. A STUDY ON THE GLOBAL ISSUE

5.1. Problem Statement

Our research is based on the problems associated with

honour killings caused by a male or female’s marriage with low

community which requires in-depth study and understanding. So,

we conducted a study on the problems related to honour

killings and the possibilities of mitigating this terrible

crime. An analysis on ‘Can the national outcry against honor

killing mitigate this heinous crime?’ was done to ascertain

the latent probabilities on lessening honour killing.

5.2. Objectives of the study

The main objectives of the study were

to highlight the problems associated with honor

killing and

to analyze the attitudes of the varied group of

people towards this issue to arrive at possible

solutions.

5.3. Methodology

5.3.1. Sample

Random Sampling Technique was made use of for this

research. The 40 samples selected for this study included 10

Teaching Staff (5-Male Staff, 5-Female Staff) and 10 PG

Students (5-Male PG Students, 5-Female PG Students) of

V.H.N.Senthikumara Nadar College (Autonomous), 10 adults (5

Male and 5 Female) and 10 youngsters (5 Male and 5 Female)

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from Virudhunagar public. The chosen samples were willing to

respond to the questionnaire and to participate in the

interview.

5.3.2. Research Instrument

Survey methodology was adopted to investigate the

problems associated with honour killing. The data required for

this study were collected from primary sources (male- young,

adult, and female - young, adult) using a questionnaire and it

was followed by a personal interview. The questions were

designed based on the problem of the study. James Dean Brown

opines that a group-administered questionnaire is quite

efficient than a self- administered questionnaire. The return

rate of a group – administered questionnaire, which is handed

over to group of individuals all at one time and place, will

be high (p.6-7). As the samples include the public who do not

have formal education, they were asked to assemble in a

particular place and the questions were explained in their

mother tongue to them. Any ambiguities or confusions that

arise were explained. The questionnaire was answered by the

selected samples on the second week of November 2013. Chi

square statistic is used to investigate the responses of the

categorical variables for the ranking order questions and

open/close - ended questions by the researchers. After

completion of the questionnaire, an interview was carried out

to get in-depth information. The Samples noted down their

ideas separately as they refused to record their statements

orally.

5.3.3. Analysis of Data

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After the collection of data from the primary

sources, the data was organized, tabulated and analyzed.

Descriptive analysis and Differential analysis were used for

statistical treatment.

Table 1: Details of the Samples

Sectors Male Female TotalStaff 5 5 10

Students 5 5 10

Public -Adults

5 5 10

Public -Youngsters

5 5 10

Total 20 20 40

The preferred samples are detailed in this table.

Table 2: Open-Ended Questions [Responses on the basic ideaabout honour killing]

Qn.No.

Question Option1

Option2

Option3

1. How do you view ‘honour killing’?a. horrible crime b.social evil c.acceptable as it brings shame on the family

7 18 15

2. On what basis, honour killings are perpetrated?a. religious belief b. casteism

c. status

5 22 13

3. What might be the reason for the denial of love marriage with an outsider?a. retaining family’s wealth

10 21 9

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within the familyb. low community bride / bridegroom c. wish to control the family

Mean

7.3

20.3

12.3

In Descriptive Analysis for open-ended questions, the average

was found out by Mean for the expected set values to know the

attitude of the people towards this heinous crime. The data in

the above Table illustrates that majority of the respondents,

both male and female (adults as well as youngsters) were

against honor killing because the average value of option 2 is

greater (20.3) than the other two options. It also shows that

mostly honor crimes are perpetrated on the basis of choosing

life partner from the lower caste.

Table 3: Comparing the Alternatives

3.1. Responses of the Samples about honour killing in rural/urban areas

In Differential Analysis for the questions four, five and six,

Chi-Square formula was applied for the statistical evaluation

to determine the critical values based on the degrees of

opinions by male and female samples, and to compare the

alternatives to decide which the right choice is: rural or

urban, domestic or national issue and honour suicide or honour

killing.

Qn.No. Question Category Rural Urban

Total

χ2

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4. Honor killings are found mostlyin rural areas /urban areas.

Male 15 5

200.476

Female 13 7 20Total 28 12 40

* Significant df = 1

Table Value of χ2 at 0.05 level = 03.841

Table 3.1 illustrates that the calculated value of χ2 was

0.476. With one degree of freedom, χ2 value lies above 0.455.

The corresponding probability is between 0.50 and 0.80

probability levels i.e. 0.6. This means that the p-value is

greater than the table value of χ2 at 0.05 probability level

which is statistically significant. It shows that honour

killing is perpetrated in more number in rural areas which are

ignorant of the impact of such crime on the victims as well as

the affected family.

Table 3.2: Responses of the Samples on Honour Killing-a

domestic issue / a national issue

Qn.No. Question Category Family

issueNation

alissue

Total

χ2

5. Honor killingsare family issue / national issue

Male 13 7 20

1.616Female 9 11

20

Total 22 18

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40* Not Significant df = 1

Table Value of χ2 at 0.05 level = 03.841

Table 3.2 illustrates that the calculated value of χ2 was

1.616. With one degree of freedom, χ2 value lies between 1.64

and 1.07. The corresponding probability is between 0.20 and

0.30 probability levels i.e.0.28. This is statistically not

significant because it is less than the table value of χ2 at

0.05 probability level. It shows that honour killing affects

the life of the young human resources and so it is not a

family but a national issue.

Table 3.3: Responses of the Samples on murdering their own

family member

Qn.

No.

Question Category

HonourSuicid

e

HonourKilling

Total

χ2

6. Murdering their own family memberto save honour ishonour suicide / honour killing

Male 09 11 20

0.902Female 12 08 20

Total 21 19 40

* Significant df = 1

Table Value of χ2 at 0.05 level = 03.841

Table 3.3 shows that the calculated value of χ2 was 0.902. With

one degree of freedom, χ2 value lies above 0.902. The

corresponding probability is between 0.30 and 0.50 probability

levels i.e. nearly 0.35. This means that the p-value is

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greater than the table value of χ2 at 0.05 probability level

which is statistically significant. Though there is slight

variation between the two categories, this clears the fact

that murdering their own family member is the primary step in

suiciding their own family honour and not saving their family

honour.

Table 4 : Close-Ended Responses of Samples

Qn.No. Question

Yes NoMale

Female

Male

Female

7. The accomplices of honourkillers take the help ofthe politicians. Yes / No

20 20 0 0

8. Honor killing is violationof women / men rights. Yes/ No

20 20 0 0

For the close-ended questions six, seven and eight, all the

male and female samples agreed and there was no disagreement.

We can conclude that the samples are aware of the heinous

offense and they are welcoming the outcry against that crime.

Table 5 : Ranking Order Questions [Responses on priority]

Qn. No. Question

Choice 1

Choice 2

Choice 3

9. Your opinion about marriage(Choose the best)a. It is a bond between twoindividualsb. It is a social bondbetween two familiesc. It is a bond of

14 16 10

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convenience

Qn.No.

Question abc

bca cab

10. What might be the reason forcommitting ‘honor killing’?(Prioritize your answer)a.choosing a male/femalepartner from low caste inmarriageb.rigid caste and socialsystem which abandons boththe girl’s as well as theboy’s familyc.no help from the formalgovernance to the victims andtheir family.

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13 7

For the question nine in the Table 5 given above, nearly 16

respondents were aware of the fact that marriage is a social

bond between two families in India and 14 respondents agreed

that marriage is a bond between two individuals whereas 10

considered the fact that marriage is a bond of convenience.

This answer also exposes their respect for the value of

marriage and the elders of the family.

The response for the question ten (20 samples chose abc order)

illustrates that choosing a male/female partner from low

community is the basic reason behind the problem. The impact

of the rigid caste social system and no outside help for the

lovers and the affected families are brought into limelight by

the Samples.

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Then, the Interview was conducted (individually) to make

a study on the opinion of male and female regarding the

heinous crime. The following questions were asked.

1. What is the role of society if a woman/man wishes to

marry a man/woman

of lower community?

2. What will be the condition of the victim’s family

after honour killing?

3. What can be done to prevent honour killing?

Of course, the samples were not willing to record their ideas

verbally because of the chance of distortion of ideas. Many

adults worry about the right choice of life partner as it is

not a matter of a day but a long term relationship between the

couples and their families. The youngsters’ reaction

exemplifies that a lot of them are interested in choosing the

life partner of their own choice, of course he/she must be

good; and as they don’t have any help from their parents and

as their community is abandoning their family, their hatred

towards that killing and their expectation towards help and

blessing from their families are brought into limelight.

5.4. Findings

Remarkable facts emerged out from careful analysis of the

data and the interview. Many students, staff and the public

(both male and female) are against honour killing. Most of the

samples were happy with the recent outcry against honour

killing. They also agreed with the view that the children

should get married at the right age with their parents’

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consent. Even though the parents oppose their marriage with

lower community groom, it is on the bride’s part to make her

parents realize their true and genuine love. The society has

no rights to deal with the individuals’ wish or to deal with

the rights of the person as we only form the society. Now-a-

days, inter caste marriages are slowly increasing in number

because the society has also started to accept it. If moral

values of the individuals are given consideration, there is

nothing wrong on the part of the society in extending

welcoming hands towards inter-communal marriages. If anything

goes in the right way, nothing can hinder it. They feel much

for the victim and the affected family who are ill-treated by

the society which result in their blank future. A loss is a

loss for ever and our nation will be loosing the strength of

the youth by honour killing. When they were questioned about

the wrong choice of the life partner, they agreed that it was

the parents’ sole responsibility to make their daughters

realize their mistake and let them decide their future.

Majority had the opinion that it is high time that something

must be done to curb honour killing.

6. RECOMMENDATIONS

The balance between individual freedom and traditional

obligation under patriarchal social system seems impossible to

attain. But this analysis insists that this is the right time

to bring out solutions effectively as such incidents destroy

the whole families’ previous efforts, happiness, wealth and

future. To prevent such dreadful happenings, the attitude of

the people towards marriage has to change first. Parents

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should accept their children’s genuine wishes in the choice of

life partner which enhances their family’s happiness and bond

of true marital relationship as life is for living. It had

been better if counseling is given to both the parents and the

wards. Politics should never be allowed to enter families

because it is for the children’s and family’s happiness that

the parents are striving at. The government, the international

community, the NGO’s and the local community need to integrate

and function as a unit. Delegates of General Assembly should

be considerate in implementing resolutions that can be applied

deeply in the modern society. In India, thirty percent of

sarpanches or village chiefs are mandated by law to be women.

State and Indian Government should adopt a comprehensive law

against Honor Killings, Denial of Fundamental Women’s Rights

to choose her life partner; adopt a comprehensive law against

the casteist propaganda against inter caste marriages; and

arrest people who have already spoken against inter caste

marriages and also ban the concerned casteist groups and

parties.

Further more, children should receive education that

clarifies the fact that any violent actions and

discriminations that are practiced against their free wills

and their future should be strictly punished, no matter it was

part of their custom or religion. Moral values should be

taught at the young age itself which inculcates respect on

female gender at adulthood. The value of human life and

interpersonal relationship should also be taught. Being born

as human being is more precious than the status and money that

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we get after our birth. Through trainings in educational

institutions, the youngsters can be awakened about the issues

related to honour crimes. Mass media also can play a vital

role in elimination of this crime by producing films which

instigates healthy attitude towards family, education, job,

marriage etc. The declaration by The Endangerment of Life and

Liberty Act 2011 to put enhanced penal sanctions against

outraging the modesty of women is a welcoming step in India as

honour crimes are increasing. Rigorous actions against the

violation of female rights are a Herculean task in democratic

India. So, honour killings can be diminished by bringing out

substantial change in the thinking.

7. CONCLUSION

The transformation is predictable when the community

itself engages constructively in empowering woman by giving

her education; by giving authority to able woman; and by

acknowledging her for who she is. If there is no moral support

from her own community, any law and international awareness

will become futile. The reason is marriage is a social bond

between two families and not individuals in India. As the

saying, ‘change is inevitable’, the ignorance in the minds of

the people should be replaced with wisdom regarding the impact

of honour killing on the future generation of the victims’

family. Further research with empirical approach on this crime

strengthens the awareness of the public and mitigates this

evil in course of time.

Appendix

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This Questionnaire is distributed among the Staff, the PG

students of V.H.N.Senthikumara Nadar College (Autonomous), and

the youngsters and adults of Virudhunagar public to know the

validity of the tool used in the preparation of this study. It

is highly confidential and it is used only for the preparation

of this research paper. Thank you.

Questionnaire

Name: Gender: Male /

Female

Educational Qualification: Occupation:

Questions

I. Choose the best option

1. How do you view ‘honour killing’?

a. a horrible crime b. a social evil c. acceptable as

it brings shame on the family

2. On what basis, honour killings are perpetrated?

a. religious belief b. casteism c. status

3. What might be the reason for the denial of love marriage

with an outsider?

a. low community bride / bridegroom b. retaining

family’s wealth within the family

c. wish to control the family

II. Which is the most suitable alternative?

4. Honour killings are found mostly in rural areas / urban

areas.

5. Honour killings are family issue / national issue.

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6. Murdering their own family member to save honour is honour

suicide / honour killing.

III. Answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’

7. The accomplices of honour killers take the help of the

politicians. Yes / No.

8. Honour killing is violation of Women / Men Rights. Yes /

No.

IV. Choose the apt answer based on priority

9. Your opinion about marriage. (Choose the best)

a. It is a bond between two individuals.

b. It is a social bond between two families.

c. It is a bond of convenience.

10. What is the reason for committing honour killing?

(Prioritize your answer)

a. choosing a male partner from the low caste in marriage

b. rigid caste and social system which abandons both the

girl’s as well as the boy’s family

c. no help from the government to the victims and their family

Interview

1. What is the role of society if a woman/man wishes to marry a man/woman of lowercommunity?2. What will be the condition of the victim’s family after

honour killing?

3. What can be done to prevent honour killing?

References

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Browne, James Dean. 2001. “Using Surveys in Language Programs”

New York: Cambridge

University Press.p.6-7.

Chesler, Phyllis. Middle Esat Quarterly Worldwide Trends inHonor Killings. Spring 2010. Volume XVII Number 2. www.meforum.org/2646/

Faqir,F.2001. Intrafamilyfemicide in defence of honour: TheCase of Jordan. Third World Quarterly, 22 (1), 165-182.

Goonesekere, S.2000. Human Rights as a foundation for familylaw reform. The international Journal of Criminal Justice Sciences, 1 (1), 1-12.

Hassan,Y.1999. “The Fate of Pakistani Women”, InternationalHerald Tribune, May 25.

“Honour Killing”. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 15th Dec.2012. Web.16 Dec.2012.Kim, SuHyeon. 2012. Diminishing the Rate of Honour Killing andSecuring Women Rights. Cheongshim International Academy Model United Nations.General Assembly Jr. Kirti, Anand. Kumar, Prateek. Yadav, Rachana. 2011. The Faceof Honour Based Crimes: Global Concerns and Solutions. International Journal ofCriminal Justice Sciences: Vol 6 Issue 1 & 2 January-June / July-December 2011.

“National Commission for Women”. Wikipedia. WikimediaFoundation, 12th Nov. 2012. Web.16 Dec.2012.

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