For my final submission, I would like to bring light to what I consider one of India’s greatest issues. Though I have discussed a great deal about how the government lacks the resources and capabilities to uphold policy and regulations in many human rights venues, this final violation reflects just as greatly on the people of India, specifically, the men. Trying to address the government to implement policy for women will only go so far when problems still lay amongst the citizens of India. Honor killings are a pressing issue in India, and news reports of these occurrences are still surfacing with regularity. Honor killings are usual incidents of male family members killing their female relatives in the name of eliminating possible dishonor brought to their family. They consider such cases of dishonor to reside in women who for example, marry men not in their social class, or women who seek divorce from their husbands. If we cannot change the minds and ways of these Indian societies, then how do we expect the government to be able to control these human rights violations? In fact, it is not always only the men who support this act, a member of women’s human rights at Amnesty International said, “females in the family—mothers, mothers-in-law, sisters, and cousins—frequently support the attacks. It's a community mentality”[1]. Many men rather go to jail, than see dishonor brought to their family, so they continue to kill, despite government intervention.
It is difficult to say how many honor killings occur each year because many go un reported, but it is safe to say that it is most likely in the hundreds, if not thousands. In India, many have a mentality that women are seen in simple terms as reproductive organs, or male property. When these women venture out to have a life of their own, or follow their own intuitions, they are harshly punished. For example, BBC news reported a brutal killing of two teenage lovers, Asha and Yogesh. Yogesh belonged to a lower class than Asha, and for that, Asha’s father, uncle, their wives and her cousin, tied them both up one night, brutally beat them both for hours and then killed them. From the report, there were no signs of remorse from any of the family members, and they all seem to believe the right thing had been done to stop the dishonor Asha and Yogesh were allegedly bringing to their family name.[2] Because this young girl and boy choose to follow their hearts they were punished for it.
In the traditional ways of Indian culture, marriages were arranged in families, and women were matched with men in their same social classes. As modern day has made women more progressive in all societies, Indian women are becoming more exposed to education, which is bringing modern influences and aspirations into their lives. This brings conflict with members of society who still believe in the fundamental ways, and are using these beliefs to justify their killings. Human Rights Watch issued a report that blamed officials for condoning and in fact, endorsing murder by not holding accused members accountable for their actions. The list of honor killings in the report seems never ending as occurrences are happening regularly all over the country as police turn a blind eye to these human rights violations. Similarly, corrupt politicians have supported these murders as having “honored traditional values”. HRW is calling for the Indian government to “ensure that its police officials impartially investigate "honor" killings without bowing to political or other pressure from powerful local leaders”[3]. Legislative change can only come if all members of society are willing to work together and have a common belief of supporting basic rights of humanity. In similar regards to my opinions, the HRW report concluded that the Indian government should use public campaign and the media to promote the rights of individuals of legally marriageable ager to marry who ever they choose, without having to live in fear of violence, abuse, or death[4]. It is the government’s responsibility to implement change, as well as it is societies duty to accept this change.
As gruesome as this picture is, I wanted to show the barbarity of honor killings. As many protesters signs have read, “there is no honor in killing”. This picture shows the worst side of humanity, as this young Indian woman was killed in broad daylight, and left to be made a public spectacle of. Seeing this picture can only pull on the emotions of the viewers. It is a simple, yet strong photograph that shows how things can change in an instant for these young Indian women who are seeking a new modern way of life and love for themselves.
http://socialliaison.blogspot.com/2010/06/women-of-world-honor-killings.html
[1] Hillary Mayell, “Thousands of Women Killed for Family ‘Honor’,” National Geographic News, (February, 2002), http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0212_020212_honorkilling.html.
[2] Geeta Pandey, “Inidan Communtiy torn apart by ‘honour killings’,” BBCnews, (June, 2010), http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/mobile/10334529.
[3] “India: Prosecute Rampant ‘Honor’ Killings,” Human Rights Watch, (July, 2010), http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/07/16/india-prosecute-rampant-honor-killings.
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