The act of killing is not so surprising when senseless brutality, especially against women, engulfs a community. Thousands of women are murdered every year by their families in the name of “honor.”
In some societies, it is common for men to think of wives and daughters as both assets and liabilities. So long as they are obedient to their fathers and husbands, they are a source of pride. But if they disobey and show independence, they become a source of shame and may even be murdered to protect the family’s honor.
They kill us just because we refused to marry, wore clothes that are too revealing, acted in ways that were not “chaste”, were in a relationship that our parents did not approve of, or even because we were raped?
The world needs to know that honor killings should be illegal and banned no matter the culture or traditions a woman lives in.
This issue cannot be stopped until we can protect women from their so-called protectors. This is not possible unless a separate, independent and empowered institutional structure is set up for the prosecution of such cases, just like there are special laws and institutions to deal with corruption, narcotics and terrorism.
