The killing of a family member, most often a woman or girl, by relatives who believe the victim has brought shame or dishonor upon the family, typically for reasons connected to perceived sexual impropriety, refusal of an arranged marriage, or a relationship the family deems unacceptable. Although sometimes defended by perpetrators or their communities as a matter of custom, it constitutes murder or manslaughter under the domestic law of virtually every country, and international human rights bodies have specifically condemned so called honor based justifications as no mitigation for the crime. The practice has prompted specific legal reforms in a number of countries to close sentencing loopholes that had historically treated it more leniently than other homicides.
Facts
Typical PenaltyPakistan's 2016 anti-honour-killing law mandates a sentence of life imprisonment, twenty five years in prison, for a convicted murderer even when the victim's relatives forgive the offender, closing the prior loophole that let a pardon from the victim's own family end the prosecution. 1 Elements of OffenseDepartment of Justice Canada research describes honour killing as an extra-legal punishment inflicted by a woman's own family for perceived damage to family honour, a practice the research notes is itself forbidden under Sharia, Islamic religious law, despite being carried out in its name. 2 Notable ExampleDepartment of Justice Canada research cites the execution of Saudi Arabian princess Misha'al bint Fahd al Saud, ordered directly by her grandfather after she admitted to adultery with no Islamic religious court proceeding, as an example of an honour killing carried out by direct family authority rather than through any legal process. 2 Jurisdiction VariationEven under Pakistan's 2016 reform, a real gap in jurisdiction-specific enforcement remains: the law still leaves it to a judge's discretion to decide whether a given murder qualifies as an honour killing at all before the mandatory sentence applies, unlike jurisdictions that define the offense by an explicit statutory test. 1 Sources
1. Al Jazeera: Pakistan Adopts New Law to Tackle Honour Killings
Al Jazeera Media NetworkPakistan 2016 law, mandatory sentence provision
mandating life imprisonment, 25 years in prison, for convicted murderers even if the victim's relatives forgive them
Pakistan 2016 law, judicial discretion provision
the bill still allowed a judge to decide whether a murder qualified as an 'honour killing' or not
View the Source 2. Preliminary Examination of So-Called Honour Killings in Canada (Department of Justice Canada)
Department of Justice CanadaDefinitions section, Department of Justice Canada honour killing research
extra-legal punishment by the family against a woman, and is forbidden by the Sharia (Islamic law).
Named example, Saudi princess Misha'al case
The execution of the Saudi Arabian princess Misha'al is an example of an honour killing in which the execution did not follow any Islamic religious court proceeding but was ordered directly by her grandfather after she admitted adultery.
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