In its recent six-monthly report, the Women’s Development Department revealed that 27 women were killed in the name of honour in Balochistan between January and June this year. The report established that the incident of honour killings have been increasing over the years and this trend is likely to continue in the future.
According to the report, 63 cases of domestic violence were registered in Balochistan between January and June. Of these, 27 women were killed in the name of honour either by their family members or relatives. Most of these cases were reported in Quetta, but a few incidents were also confirmed in Harnai, Nushki, Qila Saifullah and Qila Abdullah.
The report argued that honour killings have seen a spike in Balochistan over the past three years. In 2018, 35 women were killed in the name of honour whereas, in 2019, 63 fell victim to this practice. The report also mentioned incidents of underage marriages, forced marriage, sexual harassment and mental and physical torture.
The report says that despite being the largest “province” in terms of area, Balochistan is the most underdeveloped. It has been involved in a long-running insurgency that has negatively affected the lives and psyche of its inhabitants. Widespread misogyny and the abysmal literacy rate have also contributed to the incidents of violence against women, the report said.
Allauddin Khilji, the regional director of Aurat Foundation, a women’s rights group, said that domestic and sexual violence is a human rights violation and they leave long-lasting scars on the victim’s psyche. He said that these issues cannot be resolved via a tribal framework. Lack of legal understanding, family pressure and the inconvenience of long-running legal proceedings are among the numerous reasons why most cases of domestic violence go unreported.
According to psychologist Fouzia Bangash, domestic violence is not considered a serious crime in Balochistan. Displays of domestic violence in front of children negatively affects their minds which can translate into simar behaviour in the future. She said that social campaigns and a strong judicial system are imperative to end this practice in Balochistan.