These numbers are from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. So, are they “racists,” or are they “Islamophobes” for pointing out that unpleasant fact?
The elephant in the room continues to be Qur’an 4:34, which despite the best efforts of the HuffPo Tafsir Bureau and other apologists to assure us otherwise, approves in letter and in spirit the idea of resorting to violence to assert control over supposedly “disobedient” women.
Resistance to legislation protecting women from domestic violence continues to invoke Islam and Sharia and employ the usual threats and emotional blackmail about the collapse of society, rising divorce rates, and so forth.
Therein lies an assumption that is incompatible with the building of a free and democratic society: that there can either be a reign of terror in the home with fearful subservience, or licentiousness. If the home and family are taken to be the most fundamental building block of society, that clearly bodes ill for human rights in general.
“Nearly 1,000 Pakistani women “˜killed for honor”,” from Agence France-Presse, March 22:
At least 943 Pakistani women and girls were murdered last year for allegedly defaming their family”s honor, the country”s leading human rights group said Thursday.
The statistics highlight the growing scale of violence suffered by many women in conservative Muslim Pakistan, where they are frequently treated as second-class citizens and there is no law against domestic violence.
Despite progress on better protecting women’s rights, activists say the government needs to do more to prosecute murderers in cases largely dismissed by police as private, family affairs.
“At least 943 women were killed in the name of honor, of which 93 were minors,” wrote the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in its annual report.
Seven Christian and two Hindu women were among the victims, it said.
Out of nearly 1000. It is predictable that minorities may take on some characteristics of the broader culture, but that in no way “proves” a lack of correlation with Islamic teachings. Indeed, 91 percent of honor killings worldwide occur in Muslim communities.
The Commission reported 791 “honor killings” in 2010.
Around 595 of the women killed in 2011 were accused of having “illicit relations” and 219 of marrying without permission.
Some victims were raped or gang raped before being killed, the Commission said. Most of the women were killed by their brothers and husbands.
Only 20 of 943 killed were reported to have been provided medical aid before they died, the Commission wrote.
Despite the rising number of reported killings, activists have praised parliament for passing laws aimed at strengthening women’s protection against abuses.
Rights groups say the government should do more to ensure that women subjected to violence, harassment and discrimination have effective access to justice.
Access only means so much if the police and judiciary side with the attackers.