An honour killing is a murder of a woman accused of or actually involved with a man in act like infidelity, flirting or other instances perceived as, or one whose behavior is perceived as immoral. This happens when one or more male relatives suspect or note that the woman is a blot on the face of the family for her perceived illegal sexual activity.

The above given definition may not be as exhaustive as it should be but it covers most of the heinous crime. One may curse the stupidity of law but painful presence of heinous crime like honour killing, make any reasonable person shudder with hate and more hate. Honour killing is not a problem of some part of interior India but is rather a issue, which posses serious threats to several right of the women across the globe. Though the problem is at full swing in Islamic countries like Middle East, Iran, Iraq, and among the countries of Asia, the most developed countries of Europe also have not remained untouched by it.

Due to recent media attention, the problem of “honor killings” has come under increasing global scrutiny. In various countries throughout the world, particularly in the Middle East and parts of South Asia, women who bring dishonor to their families because of sexual indiscretions are forced to pay a terrible price at the hands of male family members. Attempted murder and other forms of corporal punishment have been reported. The most severe manifestations of punishment affect only a small percentage of women, even though the notion of family honor and shame is extremely important in most communities of the Muslim world. Women from other faith groups may also be subject to similar attitudes from within their own communities in those countries.

Certain Incidents of Honour killing:

In Denmark on 15^th May 2006, nine members of a Muslim  family were put to trial. They were accused of charges of conspiring to murder, relating to the killing of Ghazala Khan on September 23^rd last year. Ghazala was shot in the street, on broad daylight, outside Slag else train station near west of Copenhagen.

According to Denmark's Jyllands-Posten and Copenhagen Post all the nine members of the family have been found guilty of manslaughter at the High Court of Eastern Denmark. Ghazala’s mother and father were also among those found guilty. They will be facing punishment ranging from imprisonment of five year to lifetime imprisonment. The case is a landmark, as it is the first time that other family members have been found guilty of being accomplices to an honour killing.

Indian scenario:

On September 22, members of the Gujjar community in Rajasthan’s Dausa district called a ‘maha panchayat’ to protest the arrest of the killers of a young Gujjar girl who had been murdered, allegedly, to protect her family’s ‘honour’. Fifteen-year-old Neelam’s father, uncle and grandfather are alleged to have murdered the teenager to avenge the slight to their honour by the girl’s elopement with a dalit boy. The Gujjars belong to the category ‘other backward castes’, which is higher in the country’s caste hierarchy than the Bairwa caste to which her dalit husband belonged. Although members of Neelam’s family reportedly confessed, during police interrogation, that it had been an ‘honour killing’, the community panchayat says they will launch an agitation against the arrests. Indeed, in the teenager’s village of Shahadpur there is widespread condemnation of the arrests and anger against women’s right groups that have protested against the girl’s killing.

 Indian Laws and the problem of honour killing:

Any countries constitution is the most important law of the nation as all the laws legislated in the country derives recognition from the constitution of that nation. In India too, Constitution has the prime importance. The Constitution in Part III has laid down fundamental rights. The rights given under this section cannot be denied to anyone except with due course of law. In this part Article 21 talks about right to life and personal liberty. It states, “ No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.” Though the articles structure gives it a grammatical form, it has, in reality been given a positive effect by judicial interpretation. This right being fundamental in nature is enforceable against State, and judicial decision has imposed, on the State, several positive obligations. “Life” under this article does not mean merely the physical act of breathing. It includes right to live a life of dignity, and in environment, which would make it possible to attain development of ones personality.

Under criminal justice system of India, The Indian Penal Code provides punishment for offences that are committed against the human body  under chapter XVI. In this chapter, section 299 defines culpable homicide and section 300 defines murder.Section 299 says, “ Whoever causes death by doing an act with the intention of causing death, or with the intention of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death or with the knowledge that he is likely by such act to cause death, commits the offence of culpable homicide.” And Section 300 says that culpable homicide would amount to murder except in certain exceptional conditions mentioned under section 300 ‘s exception. Section 302 provides punishment for murder and states, “ whoever commits murder shall be punished with death, or imprisonment for life and shall be liable to fine. Thus Indian Criminal justice system provides provisions to make sure that the person who deprives any one of his right to life without due process should not get away without being punished.

International Laws:

Apart from all these laws, India adheres to Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which in its article 3 aims to secure right to life, liberty and security of person.Also there is ICCPR, which in its article six clearly states, “Every human being has the inherent right to life. Law shall protect this right. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.”

Conclusion:

There is no denial that legislators have laid down laws to protect women from atrocities but such laws cannot save any women unless the mind set up of the society is changed. The crime of honour killing is if simply seen would amount to murder but it is a sociological problem which needs immediate attention. It is wrong to suggest that it is a problem of a particular religion, or tribe. Rather it is a crime against a gender. The laws being legislated cannot alone change the situation.  It is proved by the fact that despite of the fact that there are laws under criminal justice system and even after being an adherent member of Human Right, in India there are still cases of honour killing. The time has come when we should understand that it is the need of the time that laws should be upgraded and implemented in their full sense or else they are of no value.

There are certain suggestions, which are as follows:

Legal measures

• Undertake a review of criminal laws to ensure equal protection of law to women.

• Adopt legislation, which makes domestic violence in all its manifestations a criminal offence. The UN Special Reporter on violence against women developed a framework for model legislation on domestic violence, which Amnesty International recommends, be used when drafting legislation against such crimes.

• Make the sale of women and girls, the giving of women in marriage against financial consideration and as a form of compensation in lieu of a fine or imprisonment a criminal offence.

• Provide women victims of violence with access to the mechanisms of justice and to just and effective remedies for the harm they have suffered.

• Ensure that the provincial home departments, commissioners, deputy commissioners and senior police staff take notice of all reports of honour killings and ensure that every single case is investigated and brought to prosecution.

• Abolish the death penalty and commute all death sentences.

 Preventive measures

• Undertake wide-ranging public awareness programs through the media, the education system and public announcements to inform both men and women of women's equal rights.

• In particular, provide gender-sensitization training to law enforcement and judicial personnel to enable them to impartially address complaints of violence in the name of honour.

• Ensure that data and statistics are collected in a manner that makes the problem visible.

 Protective measures

• Ensure that activists, lawyers and women's groups can pursue their legitimate activities without harassment or fear for their safety by providing adequate police protection and pursue all such threats with a view to punishment.

• Expand victim support services provided by the state or non-governmental organizations; they should be run as places of voluntary recourse for women and their purpose should be only protective; they should be available all over the country, adequately resourced, and linked to legal aid, vocational training and with adequate provisions for children.