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PAKISTAN: A young woman killed by her husband with false allegation

September 23, 2004

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

24 September 2004
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UA-125-2004: PAKISTAN: A young woman killed by her husband with false allegation  

PAKISTAN:  Honor killing; Violence against women; Rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a 20-year-old woman named Saran has been killed by her husband Nawab in the pretext of honor killing on 8 September 2004. The perpetrator has not been arrested yet. This is already the twelfth honor killing case AHRC has reported from Sindh Province since February.

Please send a letter urging the government of Pakistan to bring the perpetrator to justice soon. Please also request the Government to declaring honor killing a "crime" and create legal provisions to prohibit it. In particular, please urge the Government to take strict disciplinary action against the law enforcement officers who have failed to respond to situations of "honor killings."

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of the victim: Ms. Saran, 20 years old, of Pahor tribe
Alleged perpetrator: 1) Nawab, the victim's husband, s/o Khuda Bux, of Pahore tribe
Address of the victim: Shah Ali Pahore Village, Khanpur Sub-division, Shikarpur District, Sindh Province, Pakistan
Complainant:    Gulzar, s/o Dhani Bux of Pahore tribe, the victim's father, a driver, residing Mohammad Khan Pahore Village, Khanpur Sub-division, Shikarpur District, Sindh Province, Pakistan
Witnesses: 1) Allah Wadhayo, s/o Dhani Bux, of Pahore tribe, the victim's uncle, 2) Atta-u-Allah, s/o Gulzar, of Pahore tribe, the victim's brother
Date of incident: 8 September 2004 at about 10:00pm
Case reported on: 9 September 2004 at about 8:15pm at the Napar Kot Police Station, Shikarpur District (FIR, No. 31/04 Section 302 Pakistan Penal Code)

Case details:

On 8 September 2004 at about 10:00pm, Nawab along with his three brothers killed his wife Saran (20) in front of his parents on the pretext of honor killings. The next day, victim's father Gulzar lodged a complaint at the Napar Kot Police Station. (FIR, No. 31/04 Section 302 Pakistan Penal Code)  

According to the victim's father, on 8 September 2004, he went to meet his daughter at her house along with his brother and son to discuss some family matter. His son-in-laws' parents and three brothers were in the house at that time. While they were having a dinner at night, the victim's husband Nawab returned home and ordered Saran to serve him dinner. When she was slow to respond, Nawab shouted at her using filthy words and brought an automatic rifle and pointed it at her. He accused her of loosing moral character saying that it was a shame not only to his family but also to his entire tribe and that's why she should die. After that Nawab fired on his wife, which hit her left breast, and fled from the place immediately. The victim's father said he did not dare to chase him because he had a weapon and rushed to bleeding Saran but she died soon. He and his son and brother tried to carry her body to the police station or hospital but could not find a vehicle at late night so they stayed at the house until next morning.

In the following morning (September 9), the victim's father went to the elder of his tribe Mr. Ghulam Hayder and he advised the father to lodge a complaint to the police. Then the father went to the Napar Kot Police Station and lodged a complaint, in which he only mentioned his son-in-law's name as the perpetrator, that his daughter was killed under the false allegation of honor killing.   

According to the father, after Saran married Nawab few years ago, they frequently quarreled for trivial reasons and their marriage life has not been a happy one. He added that when his son-in-law killed Saran, the son-in-law did not mention any name of a man with whom she alleged to have had an illicit relationship. He merely mentioned that he is killing her on the pretext of honor killing. The father suspects that Nawab made up the false allegation to justify his crime. Meanwhile, neither Saran's family's side nor even her husband's family's side has any knowledge about this allegation.

Napar Kot police made a raid to arrest Nawab which has not been successful. The police has challenged the case with the Court of Civil Judge and Judicial Magistrate, Khanpur sub-division.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send a letter, fax or an email to the following addresses and express your concern about this serious case. Please also urge the authorities to arrest the perpetrator shortly.

Sample letter:

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Dear Sir,

Re: PAKISTAN: A young woman killed by her husband with false allegation; (FIR, No. 31/04 Section 302 Paistan Penal Code at the Napar Kot Police Station  

Name of the victim: Ms. Saran, 20 years old, of Pahor tribe
Alleged perpetrator: 1) Nawab, the victim's husband, s/o Khuda Bux, of Pahore tribe Address of the victim: Shah Ali Pahore Village, Khanpur Sub-division, Shikarpur District, Sindh Province, Pakistan
Complainant:    Gulzar, s/o Dhani Bux of Pahore tribe, the victim's father, a driver, residing Mohammad Khan Pahore Village, Khanpur Sub-division, Shikarpur District, Sindh Province, Pakistan
Date of incident: 8 September 2004 at about 10:00pm

I am very concerned by the killing of Ms. Saran (20 years old) by her husband Nawab on 8 September 2004.

According to the information I have received, the victim was allegedly killed by her husband with false allegation in the pretext of honor killing. The perpetrator has not been arrested yet. This is already the twelfth honor killing case from Sindh Province reported by the Asian Human Rights Commission since this February.

Article 2(f) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which the government of Pakistan is a state party, requests the state government to "take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women".

I would like to remind you that you have obligations under international and national law to respect and protect the lived of all women residing in Pakistan to. In light of the many credible reports of honor killings from Sindh state, I suggest that you should place highest priority on the fulfilling of these fundamental obligations.

I therefore, strongly urge you to order a prompt and through investigation into this case and bring the perpetrator to justice as soon as possible. I also urge you to ensure that the victims get fair trials and justice in court, not by a traditional jirga council. The government of Pakistan must take all possible measures to abolish the custom of honor killings by declaring honour killing a crime and creating legal provisions to prohibit it. Especially, the government of Pakistan should take strict disciplinary action against the law enforcement officers who have failed to respond to incidents of "honor killings."

Sincerely yours,


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Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Send a letter to:

1. General Pervez Musharraf
President
Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan Secretariat,
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 4768/ 920 1893 or 1835

2. Syed Sultan Shah
Joint Secretary for Law, Justice and Human Rights
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: + 92 51 920 3464
Fax: + 92 51 9203119

3. Mr. Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan
Governor
Government of Sindh  
Governor House, Karachi
Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 21 9201201-3
E-mail: governor@governorsindh.gov.pk

4. Mr. Sayed Kamal Shah
Provincial Police Officer, Sindh Police
Central Police Office Karachi
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 21 9212626-7
Fax: +92 21 9212051

5. Mr. Rahoo Khan Brohi
Regional Police Officer
Sukkur Region
Airport Road Sukkur
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 71 30547, 30248
Fax: +92 71 31824

6. Mr. Mehtab Hussain Shaikh
DPO Investigation
District Shikarpur,
Police Head Quarters Shikarpur
Ph. 92-761-515077, 512378
Fax. 92-761-512369

7. Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
OHCHR-UNOG
Palais Wilson, 8-14 Avenue de la Paix,
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: 41 22 917 9022

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-125-2004
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.