Pakistani civil society organizations, members of Parliament, and members of political parties recently staged a protest in Peshawar, Pakistan against the rise of violence against women in the province. According to the Associated Press, the Aurat Foundation (a non-governmental organization) worked with other local partners calling for strict legislation to punish the perpetrators of honor killings and other forms of violence against women.
The vice president of the Awami National Party, Haji Mohammad Adeel, stated at the protest that honor killings have become routine in Peshawar and that the current government has failed to end the violence against women, according to the Associated Press.
Meanwhile, during an address to the human rights convention in Islamabad, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said, “Though honor killing is illegal, the passage of a law banning it would lend more strength to Pakistan’s efforts to do away with this intolerable practice” reports IRIN News. While human rights and women’s rights groups praised Musharraf’s call for a law to ban honor killings, they are urging for more action rather than rhetoric to eradicate honor killings that took the lives of over 600 women in 2003.
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