We live in a place where dance at a marriage ceremony can cause jirgas to pronounce capital punishment, while suo motus seem to come to naught. The questions we need to ask ourselves are: what is our honor; what is our sense of culture; and consequently what kind of a society we are. If a place where killing of individuals, though condemned openly, is considered by many an element of honor, such a society seriously need to introspect its values. Our law on honor killing is meant to combat a ‘custom’. Solution lies not merely in stricter laws and vigorous punishments, but also in changing our cultural sensibility. Let’s redefine our sense of honor in the light of reason. Let everyone enjoy individual freedoms, and let us discover joy in life rather than honor in unnecessary death.
