Conviction rate in honour crimes remains disturbingly low
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy’s documentary ‘A Girl in the River’, that won Pakistan an Oscar, showed the story of an honour crime survivor from Gujranwala who was beaten black and blue and thrown in a canal by her father and uncle – all for marrying the man of her choice.
The rate of conviction in cases of ‘honour killing’ In Pakistan has always been low due to the flawed justice system and societal norms. The misuse of the Islamic laws of Qisas and Diyat allow the victim to ‘pardon’ the accused and the case is then closed for good. Since honour killing in most cases is committed by one of the closest relatives of the victim, the perpetrators get away with the crime after being forgiven by another member of the family.
This privatising of murder is one of the many flaws of Pakistan’s justice system. Murder in the name of honour is a crime against the state and not just against an individual. Why should an individual have the authority to ‘forgive’ a criminal of the state?
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy’s documentary ‘A Girl in the River’, that won Pakistan an Oscar, showed the story of an honour crime survivor from Gujranwala who was beaten black and blue and thrown in a canal by her father and uncle – all for marrying the man of her choice.
The justice system of the country failed to support her and she had to forgive the accused after her in-laws were pressurised by the influential people of their area. No matter how strong the victim is, the justice system fails her in the end. The victim has to surrender to the circumstances that the criminal justice system creates.
There is no hope for the conviction rate getting any better until laws like Qisas and Diyat are in place. When the perpetrator knows he will eventually come out of the jail after being ‘forgiven’ by the victim and/or her family, he will commit the crime with impunity.
…theoretically, all ‘honour killings’ must result in conviction. But we don’t know what the conviction rate is, because no systematic data gathering takes place in Pakistan. But it seems due to the fact that the rest of the legal framework allows for waiver or compounding for material gain, the amendment in sections 311 and 302 of PPC are not applied in general. And this happens in the early stages after the offence is committed and the case registered.
DNA spoke to lawyers to get their opinion on legal aspects related to the Qisas and Diyat laws that have played major role in keeping the conviction rate in honour killings low.
Lahore High Court Bar Association former president Nasira Javed Iqbal said that state should be the prosecutor in all murder cases including honour crimes. The victims or their heirs should not have the authority to forgive the accused because murder is a crime against the state, she said, while talking to DNA.
Nasira said that Qisas and Diyat laws have made it very easy for the perpetrator of honour-based crimes to escape the law, and added that the policemen now advise criminals held in other cases to declare their crime honour killing so they can escape justice.
While commenting on the recent case of Model Qandeel Baloch’s murder, she said that the police are making the incident sound like a case of honour killing case but it is not. “Qandeel’s brother kept using his money and had no problem with her being the breadwinner of the family. But when she refused to give him money, he killed her. The authorities have declared the incident honour killing because they want to sweep it under the carpet.”
Nasira called on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to amend the laws to separate honour killings from rest of the forms of murder. “PML-N has two-third majority. The parliament is theirs. They can pass the law whenever they want to. It’s just that their priorities are misplaced and they lack the will to take the required action.”
Nasira said that PM Nawaz hosted a screening of A Girl in the River at the PM house and promised the government would amend the existing laws so honour killing perpetrators are brought to justice, “but he had failed to keep his promise.
These honour crimes will continue until the Qisas and Diyat laws are abolished. State should be the complainant in all cases of honour killings”, she said.
Lawyer Asad Jamal, who fought the case of the honour killing victim shown in Sharmeen Obaid’s documentary, said: “Provisions related to Qisas and Diyat were introduced to islamise the substantive criminal law regarding offences related to human body and life. These laws assign a secondary role to the state and society and the victim or her close relatives/legal heirs (walis) get primary role as they are given the power to forgive, or compound and compromise with, the offender. Thus, the state has secondary status in affairs that cannot be considered private matters.”
He said that killing in the name of honour has to be considered murder and must be punished with a minimum of ten years of imprisonment or life imprisonment or the death penalty under the Criminal Law Amendment introduced in 2005.
“So theoretically, all ‘honour killings’ must result in conviction. But we don’t know what the conviction rate is, because no systematic data gathering takes place in Pakistan. But it seems due to the fact that the rest of the legal framework allows for waiver or compounding for material gain, the amendment in sections 311 and 302 of PPC are not applied in general. And this happens in the early stages after the offence is committed and the case registered.”
Responding to a question, Asad Jamal said that in principle, Qisas and Diyat laws need to be reconsidered and preferably repealed. Offences are against the society and the state, there is no room for the state’s exclusion or marginalisation from the process, he said
Jamal shared with DNA steps that could be taken if Qisas and Diyat-related provisions cannot be repealed at once.
“With specific reference to honour killings, no waiver or compounding of offence should be allowed before the trial is conducted and concluded, in which case conviction would be mandatory.”
He further said that the law needs to be made unambiguous and that section 338 E PPPC needs to be clearer so that ‘honour’ killing is clearly excluded from the scope of waiver and compoundability.
“Definition of honour-based crime needs to be revised to be defined in terms of ‘honour crime’ as recommended at the United Nations. Lastly, all honour crimes, including attempted honour killing and all hurts resulting from acts committed in the name of “honour”, need to be excluded from the scope.”
Abolishing Qisas, Diyat not the only solution:
Jamal said that the forced withdrawals of complaints in honour crimes will not end by simply abolishing the Qisas and Diyat laws, because the whole criminal justice system is in shambles. “Victims or their survivors will still be liable to be harassed because the state doesn’t provide protection to them. A lot more needs to be done to educate the society.”
He suggested the sensitistion of police, prosecution and the judiciary in order to make the justice system victim-friendly. “Without a large scale re-engineering, nothing will work to a satisfactory and desirable measure. We must provide protection, security, dignity and equality to women of our society. Men should realise that without giving women dignity and equality in law and otherwise, they will also remain vulnerable. The resistance to progress, and change must stop now.”