Women are not even given a chance to clear up possible misunderstandings. Tradition decrees only one method to restore honor - to kill the offending woman. Some awareness of rights has seeped into the secluded world of women in Pakistan. The backlash has been both harsh and swift, resulting in an increase of honor killings in Pakistan. Originally a Baloch and Pashtun tribal custom, honor killings are founded in the twin concepts of honor and commodification of women.
Women are married off for a bride price paid to the father.
If this commodity is 'damaged,' the proprietor, the father or husband, has a right to compensation. If a husband kills his wife for alleged sexual misbehavior and her alleged 'lover' gets away, the latter has to pay the husband compensation, for the wife that was lost and for his own life which was spared. Often the dead woman's alleged 'lover' hands over a sister to the husband, in addition to a large amount of money. Satta-watta marriages, which involve exchange of siblings across generations, put an additional burden on women to abide by their father's marriage arrangements. Often women choosing another spouse are abducted by their own relatives and not heard from again.