How did this joint study come about?
The Sindh police started a project on the prevention of karokari in Sindh in collaboration with the Gender Justice Unit of the UNDP. One of the activities of the project was to undertake a study on the state of honour killings in the
province — probe into its causes, collect and analyse relevant data, and explore the ways and means in which the police force can play its role in preventing murders in the name of honour.
How is the book being received in police circles?
Generally the book is considered a good effort and it is being taken positively. Although it is critical of police handling of the cases of killings in the name of honour, police officers do appreciate the fact that unlike other books on the subject this study gives the law enforcement perspective.
However, not all police officers are appreciative of the project and some of them are of the view that there are other priority areas such as terrorism, investigation and forensics which require more attention than honour killings.
In what ways do you expect the book to be helpful?
Most studies on honour killings give the typical human rights perspective. This book focuses on the role of the police in prevention and detection of honour killing cases. Instead of mere police-bashing, it gives an insider's view which is missing in other such studies.
Also, it does not merely identify the problem but attempts to explore possible solutions to the problem. For instance, where it identifies flaws in the investigations of murders committed in the name of honour, it also mentions good practice guidelines for correcting such flaws and improving the quality of investigation of cases.
A decision has already been taken by the provincial police chief to include the relevant chapters in the training syllabus of police training courses.
The sections of the book related to defective investigation and standing operating procedures on how to handle such cases have been converted into lectures, translated into Sindhi and included in a training manual to be used in police training institutions in the province.
Would you agree that the lack of education among the majority of our police force will hinder their training in the issue of honour killings?
Most police officers in the senior ranks are adequately educated. However, junior police officers are not highly educated. The problem is that most of the [murder] cases are initially handled by junior police officers. The training programmes also target junior police officers.
Since junior police officers do have basic education it is still possible to train them on issues of human rights, including violence against women.
Furthermore, the training modules have been designed keeping in view the junior officers' educational capabilities.
Most of the master trainers are police officers themselves and as they also rose from junior ranks this facilitates their communication with the trainees.
In your experience, is the situation concerning honour killings becoming worse over time? Or is there any sign of improvement?
There has been no marked decrease in the number of incidents. In our society violence has unfortunately increased rather than decreasing. This trend is also manifested in incidents of honour killings. The area which has shown improvement is the growing awareness among public and stakeholders about the seriousness of the
issue.
Now many people condemn killings in the name of honour. Furthermore, it is almost impossible now to hush up the matter after committing murder in the name of honour, which used to be a common practice only a few years back.
'Eliminating discriminatory aspects of laws' is listed as an objective under the heading of Legislative Response. How will it be possible to achieve this basic objective when MNAs and MPAs themselves defend these practices as the traditions of their respective provinces?
I think there is immense pressure on parliamentarians to abolish laws that are discriminatory to women and to introduce laws aimed at protecting women. Despite their traditional mindset and personal biases, they cannot evade this issue anymore. You will appreciate that recently they have passed laws for the protection of women and ending harassment.
Having said that, one must recognise the difficulty in getting overwhelming support among lawmakers on gender-based issues as many proposed laws have been met with resistance and delaying tactics.
Yet, it is not impossible to win their support. This is where civil society and women parliamentarians have to play their role in highlighting issues and pushing legislation aimed at ending discrimination.
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