Official websites use .gov
A
.gov website belongs to an official
government organization in the United States.
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (
) or https:// means you've safely
connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive
information only on official, secure websites.
Reader Comments on: Honor Killings – Still a Burning Issue in Pakistan See reader comments on this article and provide your own.
Readers are encouraged to respond to George Lundberg, MD, Editor in Chief of The Medscape Journal of Medicine, for the editor's eyes only or for possible publication as an actual Letter in the Medscape Journal via email: glundberg@medscape.net
To the Editor:
Haqqi reported on the persistent issue of honor killings in Pakistan.[1] However, the letter contains an omission and an error. Although she lists several countries where such murders have been reported, India is not noted. Honor killings, however, have been practice in India since its ancient history and continues to modern day. Moreover, a large portion of this practice is independent of Islamic influence. In fact, due to inadequate dowries, more than 5000 newlywed women die each year in India.[2] Even more common, an assembly of elders called a panchayat may order the death of couples who are engaged in an intercaste or intra-gotra (clan) relationship or marriage. This elaborates on the error contained in the letter, which claims that women are “always the victims.” It is reported that the man in such a relationship is almost always spared from death if he is of upper-caste birth,[3] otherwise both partners may be killed. The Indian government even instituted measured to financially reward individuals who marry beneath their caste in an effort to break the segregation and diminish discrimination.[4] We must call for the end of honor killings in the world's most populous democracy with integration, education, policing, and justice.
To the Editor:
That was indeed a very important point that Dr. Lakhan raised. As he had quoted, honor killing must exist worldwide regardless of political, social, cultural, or religious boundaries. However, when it comes to actually looking at the prevalence worldwide, the availability of reliable data from authentic sources becomes a challenging exercise. Dr. Lakhan's contribution in this respect is highly appreciated, and I hope that we can pave the way for further research.
