MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

Maybe her kill-first-ask-questions-later relatives were simply acting proactively in an effort to prevent what could have been. Who knows, owning a cell phone may have tempted her to commit adultery. Or write a blasphemous text message. Or dance in the rain. And dishonoring the family like that would have resulted in (yet another) honor killing anyway …

Stop Crime Before It Happens (Courtesy: Minority Report)

Asian Human Rights Commission – “Arifa, a mother of two, has been stoned to death on the orders of Panchayat (a tribal court) for possessing a cell phone. She was executed on 11 July in the district of Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab province. The victim was stoned to death by her uncle and relatives on the orders of Panchayat after she was found to have a mobile phone.

According to media reports her uncle, cousins and other relatives threw stones and bricks at her until she died. She was buried without informing anyone. Police registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the Panchayat but no one has been arrested. She was buried in a desert far away from her village and nobody (not even her children) was allowed to participate in the funeral. Her husband is unknown.

Women are often victimized by these illegal judicial systems. This incident is a demonstration of the strong patriarchal society in Pakistan, and women are forced to remain in their clutches. Because of the absence of a proper criminal justice system, the powerful sections of society have complete impunity when they enforce their will.

The incident is a clear reflection of the total collapse of the rule of law in the country, where every section of the government has become utterly redundant in the face of tribal, feudal and religious traditions. The local police have not arrested the members of the Panchayat because the power in the area lies with the landed aristocracy.

Stoning to death is a barbaric act from a primitive society. Society is sent the message that violence is the way to deal with women and other vulnerable groups. Women’s rights are negated through the use of these forms of punishment.

Pakistani society has degenerated to the point that, for a woman, keeping a cell phone has become serious crime. It is treated as a worse crime than gang rape, murder and bomb blasts, through which many people are killed on a daily basis.” Read more.

Pakistan Teen Sisters Murdered In ‘Honour Killing’ Over Video Of Them Dancing In The Rain – “Two teenage girls have been shot dead in an apparent honour killing in Pakistan after a video was circulated showing them dancing in the rain. The girls, aged 15 and 16, are seen running around wearing traditional dress, covered in green and purple headscarves, outside their stone bungalow in the town of Chilas, in the far north of the country… Their mother was also killed.” Read more.

Almost 1,000 Pakistani Women Were Murdered Last Year For Allegedly Dishonoring Their Families – “The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) released its annual report on Thursday, and tucked in among the stories of murdered journalists and liberal anti–blasphemy law activists, general intimidation, and overcrowded jails was this horrifying statistic: At least 943 women were murdered in familial ‘honor killings,’ an increase from the 791 the year before.” Read more.