Honour Killing and Silence of Justice System in Pakistan

This thesis attempts to contribute to our understanding of the problem of honour killing, and more specifically investigates why justice system in Pakistan has been failed to eradicate practice of honour killing particularly in Sindh. To investigate and analyze the research problem, the study incorporated interview assessments of representatives of ministries of women development, NGOs, and lawyers. It also included three in depth interviews of victims survivors of honour killing to examine their personal cases and perceptions about the practice. The target groups were approached through snowballing in three cities such as Islamabad, Karachi and Jacobabad. The study also dealt with laws formulated so far on HK and feudalists’ influence in the legislation. The research analyzed power contest between parallel running justice systems such as tribal and legal. It further discussed and examined cultural construction of honour and its association with power. Theoretical framework in terms of ‘honour, power and gender justice’ was applied to investigate failure of justice system combating HK practice.