That’s almost three honor killings a day.
“U.N. women’s rights group criticized Pakistan for honor killings, trafficking,” from The Associated Press, with thanks to Morgaan Sinclair:
UNITED NATIONS: A U.N. committee charged with promoting women’s rights expressed concern over an increasing number of reported “honor killings” in Pakistan and criticized the country for failing to adequately address the trafficking of women.
Members of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women questioned Pakistan’s sincerity in tackling the issue of the extrajudicial killings, asking why they appear to be rising even after a new law aimed at banning them was passed in 2004.
“Have all the criminals guilty of these murders been prosecuted?” asked Maria Regina Tavares da Silva, a committee expert from Portugal, according to transcripts of the meeting obtained this week. “There is leniency and tolerance toward this crime.”
The committee was meeting to review the progress of countries that have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Since 1979, 185 countries have acceded to it, pledging to implement laws to end discrimination against women.
The committee pointed to a shadow report submitted by a group of Pakistani rights organizations that alleged that Pakistan has not done enough to eliminate tribal courts and practices such as “honor killings,” an ancient custom in which those accused of committing adultery or violating other sexual mores are killed by relatives. Most of the victims are women.
The groups contended that such extrajudicial killings are on the rise, though representatives from the Pakistani government argued that a rise in reported killings did not represent an increase in the number of incidents.
The government said the rise is evidence of progress since such acts have traditionally gone largely unreported.
The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, citing government figures, said in a report last year that about 1,000 women die annually in honor killings.