Killing the “Seven Korans”: Honor Killings of Women in Pakistan
Around two thousand women are killed each year in Pakistan in the name of so-called “honor.” Most of these cases occur in the southern province of Sindh, where, paradoxically, women are sometimes described as being as sacred as the “Seven Korans,” a phrase meant to express deep respect. Despite this symbolic reverence, violence against women remains widespread. This persists even though Pakistan has had a woman leader, Benazir Bhutto, who served as the country’s elected prime minister, twice.
In just the past week, about ten women have reportedly been killed in the name of honor in Pakistan. Eight of these cases occurred in Sindh, where violence against women has reached alarming levels. The writer Salman Rushdie once described such violence as a form of “sexual terrorism.”
One recent case involved a 22-year-old married woman, Khalida Chandio, from the Khairpur district of Sindh. She left her home at night with a man named Sadam Chandio. By morning, relatives of the man returned her to her family. Khalida was then brought to an open ground before a crowd of villagers. Her arms were held by two individuals, and her 75-year-old maternal relative shot her in the chest. She died on the spot.
Khalida had been married at the age of 13. Her husband, a nationalist political activist, had been forcibly disappeared by Pakistan’s security agencies nine months earlier. Thousands of Pakistani citizens—particularly in Sindhi and Baloch nationalist activists or political opponents—have reportedly been subjected to enforced disappearances since around 2005. Many remain missing, while several bodies have been found showing signs of torture, and mass graves have been discovered in parts of Sindh and Balochistan. This issue, however, requires separate and detailed story.
Another case involved a 17-year-old woman, Shumaila Chandio, who was killed by her brothers near the town of Hala after she refused to marry a man of their choice.
In Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, a woman named Sidra was killed at a beauty salon while preparing for her wedding. She was stabbed to death by a man who claimed he wanted to marry her.
In the same week, another woman, Naghma Jatoi, and her young daughter were killed by a relative and their bodies were thrown into a canal. Reports suggest that the woman had refused to marry her daughter to the perpetrator’s son.
Violence against women, particularly killings in the name of honor, has increased significantly in Sindh in recent years. The province is governed by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the party of the late Benazir Bhutto.
One of the most widely known cases of honor killing is that of Qandeel Baloch, a social media figure who was murdered by her brother. Although the perpetrator was initially arrested and tried, he was later acquitted after being forgiven by the victim’s father who was the complainant in case.
An investigative journalist Samar Mehar has written a book about this case titled “A Woman Like Her: The Story Behind the Honor Killing of a Social Media Star.”
Till the time you read this blog, a woman somewhere will likely have been killed at the hands of those closest to her—perhaps her husband, brother, son, brother-in-law, father-in-law, or even a distant relative—in the name of so-called “honor.”
In just six months—from January to June 2024—approximately 224 women and 13 men were killed in the name of honor. These are only the cases reported to the police; the real numbers are likely far higher. Thousands of cases go unreported.
According to Concern Worldwide, an organization that works for women, Pakistan ranks first among the ten worst countries for women in terms of gender inequality and violence. Reports released by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and women’s rights organizations also indicate that 151 cases of violence against women have been recorded during the current year, 2026, alone. Out of these, 29 women died in so-called honor killings, while 28 women were victims of sexual violence so far this year.
“These are only the cases from Sindh province that somehow made it to the police, TV channels, print media, or organizations working for women’s rights. The ratio across Pakistan is much higher,” says a prominent women’s rights activist in Sindh, who wishes to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation, especially after her name appeared in an Israeli newspaper, a country with which Pakistan has no diplomatic relations.
“There are countless unreported cases of honor killings. Women are murdered and their bodies thrown into the Indus River in the riverine (Kacha) areas of Sindh. Others are buried hastily in shallow graves without any last rites. In Sindh alone, the number could range between 1,500 to 1,800 women annually. Across Pakistan, the figure may exceed 4,000 each year,” she adds.
Until recently, such killings were often treated by police as “crimes of passion”—cases where a man claimed he saw his wife or a female relative in a “compromising situation” and acted impulsively. In many instances, the alleged male partner would escape, while the woman—or both—would be killed under the pretext of “ghairat” (honor).
However, due to the rise of social media, sustained campaigns by women’s rights organizations, and improved police training, these cases are increasingly treated as criminal acts rather than ‘crimes of passion’. Yet, legal loopholes remain.
Under Islamic laws introduced during the rule of military dictator General Zia-ul-Haq, particularly the Qisas and Diyat laws, perpetrators can be acquitted if they are forgiven by the victim’s family or if “blood money” is paid. In many cases, the complainants themselves—often the victim’s own family—are complicit in the crime, allowing perpetrators to escape justice.
It is not uncommon for elderly family members to appear at police stations to take responsibility for the crime. This was seen in the case of Khalida Chandio, where her elderly relatives were arrested in connection with her killing.
Former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi once remarked that General Zia-ul-Haq introduced draconian laws against women because women from political families, such as those associated with Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, were active in politics.
Zia’s regime also introduced laws criminalizing fornication, under which even rape victims could be punished if they failed to meet strict evidentiary standards.
Sindh and southern Punjab remain hotspots—effectively “killing fields”—for honor-related violence. This is largely due to entrenched feudal and tribal systems. In Sindh, vast tracts of land are owned by a few powerful families, while hundreds of thousands of peasants remain landless, many in conditions akin to bonded labor.
Tribal chiefs often preside over parallel systems of justice, where honor killings are sanctioned as a matter of custom. In Sindh, the practice is known as “Karo Kari,” while in Balochistan it is referred to as ‘siyaahkari’ (literally means ‘blacknesss’)In one widely reported case, five women were buried alive in Balochistan. In another, a woman was killed by a mob on the orders of a tribal chief.
Victim of killing custom Kari Kari, women have separate graveyards where they were buried without any last rites.
Corruption further compounds the problem, with police often bribed to ignore or mishandle cases.
In many instances, accusations of “Karo Kari” are used as a pretext for ulterior motives—such as settling personal scores, seizing property, or extorting money. There are cases where women are killed while the accused male is allowed to flee, only to be later pressured for financial settlements.
Even elderly women have been targeted under the guise of honor to settle disputes between families. Often, women are killed merely on suspicion of relationships, or for refusing arranged marriages and choosing love.
Ironically, in many communities, a large proportion of men engage in relationships themselves, yet remain willing to kill female relatives based on suspicion alone.
From the highest levels of political power to the most marginalized rural settings, the rhetoric of “honor” continues to be invoked to justify violence. From highest places of power to a peasant.
Some attempt to rationalize these killings by comparing them with practices in other Muslim-majority societies, including in parts of the Arab world. Others even go so far as to falsely label unrelated incidents—such as the death of Princess Diana—as “honor killings.”