A teenage boy stabbed his sister to death in Karachi’s Orangi Town area in a suspected case of honour killing earlier today.
The boy attacked his 17-year-old sister with a knife multiple times inside their home in Fareed Colony, a police official said. The girl succumbed to her injuries during medical treatment at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.
The suspect who was taken into custody by local police said he saw his sister talking to a youngster at their doorstep but as soon as he arrived at the spot the boy ran away, the police official added. “The victim refused to say anything which made her brother suspicious and he attacked her with a kitchen knife,” he added.
Women in Pakistan have fought for their rights for decades, in a country where honour killings and acid attacks remain commonplace.
More than 500 men and women died in honour killings last year, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Many of these crimes, carried out by relatives who say their mostly female victims have brought shame on the family, are never prosecuted, observers say.
Last month, a young couple from North Waziristan Agency had been shot dead for marrying of their free will. Khan Gul, 24, and his wife Shabeena, 22, were killed allegedly by the woman’s uncle and his son inside their house in Orangi Town.
The girl was married to her cousin Ikramullah in her childhood according to tribal customs. However, when she grew up she fell in love with another cousin, Gul. The first marriage was never consummated, though. Shabeena eloped with Gul from the tribal region and tied the knot five months ago. They had come to Karachi over a month ago and were living in a rented house since. On March 7, Ikramullah and his father barged into the couple’s house and opened indiscriminate fire, killing both the victim on the spot.
Read : Honour has different meanings for different genders
