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Originally Posted by tarek
An Editorial from today's "Jang - The News International"
Stopping 'honour' killings
President General Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday signed a Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2004, which provides the death penalty or 25 years imprisonment to the perpetrators of so-called honour killing.
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Prima facie, a robust step in combating “Honour Killing’s”.
But as the say, the devil is in the detail.
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PAKISTAN: Activists sceptical about new law designed to reduce honour killings
……………."It won't make any difference. It has just increased the punishment to 25 years in prison, but that remains discretionary," Sadia Mumtaz, coordinator of the Legislative Watch Programme (LWP) of the women's rights body, Aurat Foundation, told IRIN in the capital Islamabad.
"In most of honour-killing cases, the killer is from the same family, often an immediate blood relative, but with discretionary powers and the option of financial settlement with the guardian of the female murdered, this is like giving a licence to kill," Mumtaz said……………
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On the basis of the facts presented in the link from Amnesty International in my last post, I share Ms. Mumtaz’s scepticism on the outcome where punishment is discretionary rather than mandatory.
Lemon Tree, the “financial settlement” bit, brings out your “commodity” point. That it has the sanctity of law, is pure idiocy.