Honour killing in Pakistan

Honour killings in Pakistan are known locally as karo-kari (Urdu: کاروکاری). Pakistan currently has the top number of documented and estimated honour killings per capita of any country in the world; about 1/5 of the world's honour killings are committed in Pakistan (1,000 out of the 5,000 per year total).[3] An honour killing is the homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members, due to the belief the victim has brought dishonour upon the family or community.[4] The death of the victim is viewed as a way to restore the reputation and honour of the family.

Quotes

• It is important to consider the risks faced by Pakistani women in particular whose families believe that they violated the family’s honour. Among the “violations of honour” are rejecting an arranged marriage, entering an unapproved marriage or even worse, sexual activity outside marriage. Many women and men who have been accused of such “violations” have become the target of an honour killing. In Pakistan, women and men are usually expected to accept an arranged marriage with someone from their own clan and family, and marriage to someone from a different clan, caste and social background is highly disapproved of, potentially to the point of provoking attempts to kill the person involved. The husband and the wife can become the target of attack or honour killing.
  • Security, Culture and Human Rights in the Middle East and South Asia By Christoph Bluth · 2019

• There are no official countrywide statistics for honour killings in Pakistan.
  • Human Rights in Development Yearbook 2003 - Page 107 Lone Lindholt, ‎Sten Schaumburg-Müller · 2005 and Human Rights in Development, Volume 9: Yearbook 2003 - Page 107 Lone Lindholt, ‎Sten Schaumburg-Müller · 2021