From Ghairat to Criminality: Transformation of Honour Killing Jurisprudence in Pakistan

Abstract

Honour killing is one of the most enduring gender-based violence in Pakistan and it is a complicated interplay of the traditional customs, social norms, religious interpretations, and the criminal law. This paper looks at how honour killing jurisprudence has changed in Pakistan by analyzing the legal changes in the jurisdiction of the law since the colonial times to the modern age. The paper identifies the sources of honour-based violence in the socio-cultural notion of ghairat and examines its provisions in the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Pakistan Penal Code, and Qisas and Diyat framework and the subsequent legislative changes. The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2004 and the Criminal Law (Amendment) (Offences in the Name or Pretext of Honour) Act, 2016 are of particular interest and aimed to increase the criminal accountability and restrict the misuse of compromise provisions. The study shows that there has been a progressive change in the approach to cultural accommodation of honour-based motives to a rights-based approach that focuses on the protection of life, dignity, and equality through an analysis of judicial precedents, statutory reforms, constitutional principles, and the literature. The analysis shows that although legislative and judicial changes have greatly enhanced the legal reaction to honour killings, issues to do with implementation, social predispositions, and institutional flaws still hinder effective accountability. This paper finds that long-term legal implementation, judicial dedication, and social change will be critical in eliminating honour-based violence in Pakistan.