In 2008, five women were buried alive in Jaffarabad, Balochistan — their only crime was allegedly dishonoring their tribe. A senator justified their murder as “centuries-old tradition.” No repercussions followed. Over a decade later, the story hasn’t changed much. In 2024 alone, more than 400 women were killed for “honor,” according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. The real number, of course, is far higher — buried beneath silence and shame.
Despite the 2016 legal reform that made “honor killings” non-compoundable — meaning families can no longer forgive the murderer — justice remains a mirage. Implementation is feeble, investigations half-hearted, and courts still swayed by cultural bias. The reform exists on paper, not in police stations or courtrooms where victims’ names are erased before their blood even dries.
In Pakistan’s social fabric, women are still treated as property — symbols of male pride, not individuals with rights. A woman choosing her partner or speaking her mind can be enough to get her killed. The same patriarchy that silences her also governs the justice system meant to protect her. The jirgas that dictate these murders operate with impunity, often protected by feudal lords and local politicians who claim to be guardians of tradition.
It’s not just individuals who kill — it’s a system that allows them to. When a sitting senator calls murder a “cultural norm,” when the police refuse to register cases, and when courts hesitate to convict, the state itself becomes complicit. The message is clear: a woman’s life is negotiable.
To break this cycle, we need more than symbolic laws. We need action.
Ban jirgas outright. Train judges and police officers to recognize gender bias. Establish fast-track courts for violence against women. Empower women through education and economic independence. Involve religious scholars to dismantle the misuse of faith that sustains these crimes. And above all, ensure political accountability for those who defend such barbarism in the name of culture.
The illusion that Pakistan is a safe place for women will persist until justice is swift and visible. As long as men believe their honor depends on a woman’s silence, our society will continue to bury its conscience alongside its daughters.
Simone de Beauvoir once wrote, “One is not born, but becomes a woman.” In Pakistan, that transformation too often ends in death. To honor women, we must first let them live — freely, fearlessly, and equally.