Killing For Pride: A Criminological And Constitutional Analysis Of Honour Crimes
- IJLLR Journal
- Sep 20
- 2 min read
Arshia Nagpal, Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies, GGSIPU
ABSTRACT
Cultural crimes are basically the crimes which seek the context of either culture or any under the head of it. Honour Killing is the type of cultural crimes which are also called customary killing is a murder which is done of mainly females by the male members of a family or a clan which can be more than one member. In honour killing the perpetrators believe that the victim has brought shame to the family, clan, or any such community to which they belong. The human rights watch defines “Honour Killing” as the acts of violence which is usually murder which are committed by the male members of the society to the female members of the society who are held to have brought dishonour to the family. The various reasons for such can be if a woman has refused to enter into an arranged marriage, being the victim of a sexual assault, seeking divorce from an abusive husband who is committing adultery. 1The mere perception that a woman has behaved in a certain way which “dishonours” the family is enough for the family members to do honour killing. There are many reasons for the commitment of an “honour killing”, first being the dishonour which a member of society has brought upon the other family members. This dishonour can be of many types, the perceived dishonour is normally result of the following behaviours or the suspicion of such behaviour which are dress codes which are unacceptable to the family or the clan, refusing to have an arranged marriage, desiring to marry by own choice or engaging in certain sexual acts. The most prominent reason for honour killing in India is the caste system which prevails in India. It continues to be at its rigid best and because people from rural areas refuse to change their attitude towards marriage, in India there is a patriarchal society where men are expected to enforce such norms and traditions in order to protect their families. 2Women are expected to conduct themselves in a certain way which would be considered as honourable. This understanding of the notion gives legitimacy to all forms of social regulation of women’s behaviour and to the violence committed against them. The root cause for the increase of honour killing is because of the formal governance has not been able to reach the rural areas and as a result. Thus, this practice continues though it should have been removed by now.
