People Web International

By Manashimaya Duttagupta, PWI Reporter National Capital Territory Delhi
 
Honor Killing is defined as a death that is awarded to a woman of the family for marrying against the parent’s wishes, having extramarital and premarital relationships, marrying within the same gotra or outside one’s caste or marrying a cousin from another caste.

The word awarded is used here because the very name suggests that. Personally, I think and believe that it shouldn’t have been honor killing because the name in itself has the two words which basically are widely different in meaning. When a person is killed as a punishment, the term “honor killing” should not have been used with the word honor rather it should have been ‘disgraceful killing’ because it is an act of vengeance, usually death committed by male family members against female family members who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family.

At times, a woman can be targeted by her own family members for variety of reasons including refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, sometimes victim of a sexual assault, seeking divorce – even from an abusive husband. The mere perception that a woman has dishonored her family is sufficient to trigger an attack on her life.

The loose term ‘Honor Killing’ which should be strongly condemned and criticized, applies to killing both males and females in cultures that practice it. Male persons can also be the victims of honor killings by members of the family of a woman with whom they are perceived to have an inappropriate relationship.

In the Indian society, particularly in North India, women are regarded as a personal property. In some states like West Bengal, honor killings ceased about a century ago and are non-existent in South India and Western States of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The Indian state of Punjab and Haryana is known for incidents of honor killing.

The recent 2010 shocking incident of honor killing in the National capital where a couple and a woman were murdered by their own brothers/brother-in-law condemn and think that activism is needed to reform the prevalent system from the root.

The story goes as Monica, a Gurjar had married Kuldeep, who was a Rajput, and their families did not approve of the alliance. Both of them belonged to the Wazipur village of Delhi. Shobha, Monica’s sister, on the other hand had a relationship with a boy of another caste and had reportedly helped her sister to elope with a man belonging to another caste.

According to police, the accused Ankit Chaudhury, Mandeep Nagar and Nakul Khan murdered their sisters Monica and Shobha and brother-in-law Kuldeep for bringing dishonor to their families by marrying outside their community. Their relatives often criticized them that their sisters have found their partners from a different caste and therefore there was a lot of pressure on them and that’s why they did this.

The brutal crime that’s being committed in the name of honoring their family values infact has brought dishonor to their own family, their community and their country. When will they understand that love, peace and friendship amongst human beings by crossing all barriers of national and international race, culture, caste, religion will in true sense make them humane and will free them from the shackles of their narrow thoughts, making them more richer and morale in a democratic country like India.

Contact: nct.delhi@peoplewebinternational.com