On Tuesday, a Pakistani woman was killed by her relatives
outside Lahore High Court for marrying against their wishes. Farzana Parveen was
attacked with bricks and sticks as she arrived at the court and died at the
scene.  In this special SoroptiVoice
blog, Talat Pasha of Soroptimist International Karachi Central writes about
this horrific crime and the difficulties in tackling so-called“honour”
killings.  

Another woman dies!  
And soon her story will also be forgotten….

Farzana was just 25 years old. She was engaged to her cousin
but decided to marry someone she loved. Due to severe familial opposition she
decided to run away and get married. Her father had filed a case for abduction
against her husband. She and her husband were fighting against that case and
Farzana had come to Court to testify that she was not kidnapped but had married
the man of her own free will.

It was here, in front of the Lahore High Court, in front of
the justice system of Pakistan that she was stoned to death by her family for
marrying the man she was in love with. Twenty members of Farzana Iqbal’s family
attacked her and her husband with sticks and bricks in broad daylight on
Tuesday before a crowd of onlookers.  Her husband escaped. All the suspects except her
father escaped. He admitted to killing his daughter.

Around 2,000 Pakistani/Indian women are killed every year by
their families in so-called “honour” killings, but the true figure is probably
even higher as many cases go unreported. In 2012 , parents poured acid on their
young daughter just because she turned to look at a boy: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20202686

 “It was her destiny
to die that way” was the mother’s comment before being imprisoned.

Cases that do result in a conviction can still see the
killer walk away free, as Pakistani law allows a victim’s family to forgive
their killer. The killer is often a member of the victim’s family, allowing
them to nominate a person to commit the act who would then be forgiven.

"This is a huge flaw in the law. We are struggling
against it” says one worker from a women’s rights group.

Not only do the murderers go scot free but they are cheered
and given a hero’s welcome by the rest of the family for having upheld their ‘
honour’. Each day hundreds of women who dare to fall in love against the wishes
of their families, wake up to the terrifying truth that instead of their bridal
dresses they may soon adorn the shroud and be laid to rest in their graves.

Women of the world should wake up to this atrocity and raise
their voices against these barbaric laws. Why should a murder be condoned just
because the murderer is a brother or a father??

Talat is Past-President of SI Karachi Central, SIGBI Assistant
Project Director for Economic Empowerment and Federation Project Action
Chair for SI Pakistan.  She is pictured above speaking at a panel event at CSW57 on the threats facing women in south Asia.