Hundreds of Pakistani women’s rights and human rights activists and lawmakers demonstrated outside of the Pakistani parliament in Islamabad last Friday to protest the government’s lack of action against honor killings and violence against women. According to the Associated Press, the protesters urged the government to change laws to contain tougher punishments for family members that kill their female relatives in the name of honor.
The protesters stated that a reported 4,101 people, mostly women, have been killed in the name of honor in the past six years, noting that the true number of cases that go unreported is much higher. Over 60 cases of honor killings have been reported this year in the Punjab province alone, according Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
Meanwhile, a bill has been proposed in Parliament that will provide tougher punishments for those who commit crimes against women such as honor killings. However, hard-line clerics are making efforts to block the bill.
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