Armed men from the Urmani tribe shot and then buried alive three teenage women, one of their mothers, and another’s aunt in Baba Kat village, Balochistan Province, Pakistan in mid-July 2008. The reason given for the crime was that the teenagers had tried to choose their own husbands. As of August, no arrests had been made and police were not willing to give out information, according to the Asian Human Rights Commission.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan allows men and women to make their own choice in marriage, according to Naila Hassan, a lawyer in Quetta, Pakistan.
The Pakistani NGO, Aurat Foundation, reports that 90 women were killed in “honor” killings between January and March of 2008, while there were 1,321 reports of violence against women during the same period. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said there were 636 reported “honor” killings across the country in 2007.
Some argue that such practices are not “tradition” and that Islam “gives a right to women to freely wed”, according to Senator Yasmin Bibi.
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Compiled from: “PAKISTAN: Five women buried alive, allegedly by the brother of a minister”, Asian Human Rights Commission - Urgent Appeals, 11 August 2008.