Honour killings continue to be practiced in modern India, both in urban and rural areas. They usually involve the murder of a female family member by male relatives, who believe the victim has brought shame upon the family due to her behavior. Common reasons include having relationships or marriages outside the caste or religion, or violating socially imposed dress codes or codes of behavior. The document discusses the prevalence of honour killings in northern India, their rarity in southern India, and recent cases that have occurred. It also outlines existing laws against honour killings and recommends further legal reforms, sensitization of society, education campaigns, and efforts to promote independent economic status of women as ways to help reduce these crimes.

1. HONOUR KILING AS A CRIME IN INDIA
CAUSE AND SOLUTIONS
N o v e m b e r - 2 0 1 5

2.  An honour killings is the homicide of a member of a family by other
members, due to the perpetrators by having the belief that the victim
violated the principles of a community or a religion, the victim has brought
shame or dishonour upon the family.
 Honour killings can also be described as extra-judicial punishment of a
female relative for assumed sexual and marriage offences. These offences,
which are considered as a misdeed or insult, include sexual faithlessness,
marrying without the will of parents or having a relationship that the family
considers to be inappropriate and rebelling against the tribal and social
matrimonial customs.

4.  It is notion of honour and shame .
 It is origin of justification for violence .
 It is not unique to any one culture or religion.
 honour killing is different from the dowry deaths.

5.  NORTH INDIA
Honour killings have been reported in northern regions of India. Many
killings are happening with regularity in Punjab, Haryana and western
Uttar Pradesh. These are socially sanctioned by caste Panchayats
and carried out by mobs with the connivance of family members.
 SOUTH INDIA
Honour killings are rare to non-existent in South India, and the western
Indian States of Maharashtra and Gujarat. There have been no honour
killings in West Bengal in over 100 years.

6. Honour killings are not formally approved by Islamic law or religion.
Honour killing practice is not limited in the rural areas.

7. Honour
Killing
Marrying Person
outside the Cast
of Religion
Disobeying the
Dress Code given
by the
Community to
the Females
Refusing
Arranged
Marriage
Engaging the
Lesbian or Gay
Relationships
RapeAdultery
Desire for
DivorcePromiscuity

8.  stoning,stabbing,beating,burning,beheding,hanging,throatslashing,
acidattack, shooting and strangulation.
 Murder is not the only form of honour crime.The murders are
sometimes performed in public to warn the other women within the
community.

9.  On 2nd Jan 2015 ,19-year-old girl was allegedly killed by her
father and other family members who were opposed to her
relationship with a boy belonging to a different community in
Baroda village of the district.
 On 5th Jan 2015, newly-married couple despite directions from
the high court led to a gory end for a young couple as they
were lynched by the girl's relatives.
THE RECENT EVENTS OF HONOUR KILINGS IN INDIA

10.  In Uttar Pradesh on 15th Feb, 2015, a girl
was shot dead allegedly by her brother
because of having an affair with a boy.
 on 28th Jan, 2015 a 18 year old youth, a
student of 12th, was found murdered in the
fields of Jui village of Bhiwani district of
Haryana.
 On November 2014 , an Indian woman's
parents have strangled her to death after
claiming she destroyed their family's
'prestige' by marrying a man from a different
caste.

11.  Honour Killings are cases of homicide and murder which are grave
crimes under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Section 299 and 301 of
the IPC, deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder while
Section 300, deals with murder. The perpetrators can be punished as
per Section 302
 Such killings also violates Articles 14, 15 (1) & (3),16, 17, 18, 19 and
21 of the Constitution of India.
 Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Act, 2006.
 Domestic Violence Act, 2005.

12.  United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all forms of
Discrimination against Women (CEDAW 1979).
 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, (UDHR 1948):
 Article 1 : “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
 Article 2 : “everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set
irrespective of “sex”.
 Articles 3 : “women are entitled to enjoy the “right to life, liberty and security
of person”.
 Article 5 : “right to be free from torture or cruel and inhuman”.

13.  International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (ICESCR 1976).
 Article 12 : “State parties have to take all steps to ensure the right of everyone to
the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health”.
 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women‟
(1993).
 Working towards the Elimination of Crimes against Women
Committed in the Name of Honour‟ (2003)

14.  Honour killing like social evil cannot be just eliminated through law alone
,almost every substitution in social, economic, political and cultural ,will have
to be sensitized against this crime.
 Setting up the women police stations for counseling women victims and civil
administrations.
 honour killing or any violence in the same of honour by virtue of its nature
should be treated on par with any first degree murder or criminalized.
 Public education on this issue.
 Media campaign.
 Collaboration with organizations working against violence of any sort.

15.  Promotion of more research into this area.
 the international community, must intervene
and pressure the states to uphold the United
Nations Convention on the Elimination of all
forms of Discrimination against Women 1979
Obligations.
 Discriminatory provisions relating to
justifications , excuses or defenses on
grounds of honour or passion must be
removed In India.
 There must be some major amendments in
IPC and Evidence Act

16. We can conclude that honour killing is still being practiced in this modern
India from urban cities like Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai etc to the most rural
and backward areas. The usual remedy to such murders is to suggest that
society must be prevailed upon to be more gender-sensitive and shed
prejudices of caste and class. Efforts should be made to sensitize people
on the need to do away with social biases.
The violence will only be reduced when these patriarchal mindsets are
challenged. Some kind of change both in internal and external control
method in Indian society such as, economic conditions and stringent law as
well as the independent economic status of women, can be helpful in
reducing the number of this old age evil in India.

17.  Amnesty International, “Pakistan: Honour Killings of Girls and Women”.
 Amnesty International, “Broken Bodies, Shattered Minds: Torture and ill Treatment of Women”, 6
March 2001.
 “CEDAW”, Part 4, Article16.
 “Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women” UN Document Series Symbol:
 Gezer, Murat (2001). “Honour Killing Perpetrators Welcomed by Society”, Today's Zaman 12 July
2008,
 Hassan, Yasmeen (1995). Heaven Becomes Hell: A Study of Domestic Violence in Pakistan
(Lahore, Shirkat Gah).
 “Honour Killing” (2007). The Oxford Dictionary of Law Enforcement (Oxford, Oxford University
Press) .
 “Human Rights Act 1998”, Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia
 “Indian Majority Act”, Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Modified on 25 September 2010.
 National Legal Research Desk, Honour Killings/ Crimes in India, A SHAKTI VAHINI INITIATIVE,
20 November 2014.
 “Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989” Act No 33 of 1989,
11 September, 1989.

18. Thank You
Email: benimain_1@live.com