Karo-Kari claimed 176 lives in Sindh in 2021: study

KARACHI: As many as 176 people were killed, including women and men, in the name of honour killing (Karo-Kari) in 2021 across the Sindh province, revealed a study conducted by a women rights organisation Sindh Suhai Sath (SSS).

Chairperson of the SSS organisation Dr Ayesha Dharejo said all the women and men were deprived of their right to live in the name of so-called honour due to the weakness of the law enforcing agencies, weak prosecution and ambiguities in laws.

According to the figures, total 176 people, including 128 women and 48 men, were brutally murdered across the province by their blood relatives in the name of honour killing. Record increase was noted in the aforementioned murder cases in four districts of upper Sindh, the study said.

During the 12 months of 2021, 27 people, including 23 women and four men, were killed in district Kashmore-Kandhkot, 26 people, including 14 women and 12 men, in district Jacobabad, 23 people, including 18 women and five men, in district Shikarpur and 17 people, including 14 women and three men, were killed in district Ghotki, the study said.

There is no writ of the law generally in whole province and particularly in upper Sindh, while the local police always remained reluctant to arrest the accused wanted in these cases and if they were arrested in some cases, their bail had been granted soon, Dr Ayesha Dharejo said.

She said Sindh, known as land of Sufis and peaceful people, witnessed such a large number of murder incidents in a year, was in fact alarming. She said in the coming month, their organisation would hold a march as protest against the shabby tradition of ‘Karo-Kari’ in district Kashmore-Kandhkot, the worst affected district in terms of Karo-Kari incidents.

According to the official figures of the Sindh Police’s research section, as many as 769 people, including 510 women, were killed in the name of so-called ‘honour’ in the province between the years 2014 and 2019.

They said the police presented charge sheets (challans) in 649 cases and the courts awarded sentences to 19 accused only, while the accused in 136 cases were acquitted and 494 cases are still pending for trial. Notably, the conviction rate stood at a mere two percent against the acquittal rate of 20.9 percent.