Another Honour Killing in Pakistan

Emma Barnhoorn

Pakistan & Human Rights Researcher

Global Human Rights Defence

In the village in the Nasirabad district on Monday, October 4, a man axed his wife and her friend to death for honour. 

According to the police, the incident took place in Goth Jan Muhammaed where Muhammad Aslam attacked his wife and her friend with an axe. Sadly, both women died of their injuries on the spot. After murdering the two, Aslam did surrender himself in a police station along with the murder weapon, the axe. Police have told that the murder was in the name of honour and have registered a case against Aslam. The exact reasons for this honour killing remain unknown (Mangi, 2021). 

In the previous weeks, honour killings have become of a regular occurrence. Honour killings are the most extreme form of honour-based violence where a person is subjected to violence by their family or community with the intention of restoring the so-called “honour”, presumed to be lost due to the victim’s behavior (Honour Based Violence Awareness Network, 2021). Common reasons for honour killings in the previous weeks were, for example, adultery, causing the husband to kill his wife because she had an affair with another man.

For further reading and soruce:
Mangi, A. J., (2021, October 5) “Woman, man axed to death for honour” in Dawn: https://www.dawn.com/news/1650183