One-fifth of homicides in Pakistan are honour killings
An epidemiological study published in the April 2009 issue of the European Journal of Public Health concludes that 1957 honour killings of women occurred in Pakistan between January 2004 and December 2007—about 20 percent of all homicides.
The study was led by Dr. Muazzam Nasrullah of the Aga Khan University in Pakistan. An excerpt is posted at AllVoices.com.
Now working as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nasrullah said the report is the first statistical study that attempts to quantify the problem since data about the practice are so difficult to collect. Nasrullah used local and national newspaper reports systematically compiled by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan as the basis for his study.
Other sources of data, such as death certificates, often do not include specific enough information on the circumstances of the death, Nasrullah said. A total of 1,957 incidents of honor killings were recorded over four years, the study reported. The majority occurred in response to alleged extramarital relations. But Nasrullah said he is confident the results were lower than the actual number because not every event makes it into the media.
“The problem is much more than what is depicted in my paper,” said Nasrullah.
The mean annual rate of honour killing in Pakistan during the time period under investigation was estimated to be 15.0 per million women aged 15-64.
The study’s abstract is posted here.
[...] ONE FIFTH OF HOMICIDES in Pakistan are honour killings; Woman facing deportation fears she will be killed …. [...]