The tradition of honor killings sees men and women being made victims to resolve other disputes, be it tussles over property or family feuds. Girls who have not yet reached puberty, married women with children, even grandmothers are killed on charges of having illicit sexual relationships.
Women fall victim to the custom more often than men.
The killers are protected and police also connive in the cover-up, she alleges. Even religious leaders have condemned the tradition and called for laws to check such killings. Rehman also feels tribal elders should be called and given the responsibility of putting an end to the tradition. Usually such cases are settled outside court by the jirga , committee of elders, and in most cases the woman's family is pressured not to file an official complaint. If tried in court, men often escape with lesser punishments pleading that they had committed a crime of passion rather than a premeditated murder, says Huda.