WHAT KIND OF SOCIETY ARE WE HEADING TOWARDS? AND STILL ITS ONLY WOMEN WHO SUFFER THE MAJOR CHUNK!

To be young and in love has proved fatal for many in parts of north India as an intolerant and bigoted society refuses to accept any violation of its rigid code of decorum, especially when it comes to women.

The usual remedy to such murders, for that is what they are, is to suggest that society must be prevailed upon to be more gender-sensitive and shed prejudices of caste and class.

Like the case of Sati and dowry where there are specific laws with maximum and minimum terms of punishment, honour killings, too, merit a second look under the law. In many cases, the victims who run away with ‘unsuitable’ partners are lured back home after FIRs are filed by their families.

The police cannot be unaware that in many cases they are coming back to certain death at the hands of their relatives and fellow villagers. Yet, pre-emptive action to protect them is never taken. Undoubtedly, the virus of caste and class that affects those carrying out such crimes affects the police in the area too. But that can be no excuse to sanction murder. Active policing and serious penal sanctions are the only antidote to this most dishonourable practice.

source- HT