SUMMARY
Thesis: It is justified to believe that the Pakistani government is not effectively
controlling honour killings due to a lack of enforcement of education, a lack of
action regarding feudalism, and inadequate poverty prevention.
Argument 1: The Pakistani government is not controlling education enough, as the
literacy rates for girls is very low.

In the years 1949-50, two years after Pakistan’s independence in 1947, overall
gross participation rates at primary and secondary levels were low at 16
percent and 9 percent (for women in particular, 4 percent at primary level and
3 percent in secondary level)1
 Despite the obvious support for equal opportunity reflected in the policies,
some statements represent contradictions. For example, the policy
recommends support for ‘acquisition of literacy and certain basic home
management skills [which] may be preferred over full scale primary education
[for girls] for the time being by typical rural families’ (Government of
Pakistan, 1979)2
 Less than 50 percent of school girls finish school3
 Uneducated girls are more likely to get married earlier4
Counter Argument:
 It is arguable that honour killings are misinterpreted philosophies of Islam
which come from nations with low literacy rates. For example, in Pakistan
only 36 percent of women (2005 est.) are literate, meaning being able to read
and write after reaching the age of fifteen.5 Although this can be argued in the
opposite direction in comparison to the literacy rate of women in Saudi Arabia
being 70.8 percent (2003 est.)6.
Argument 2: Feudalism plays a large role in honour killings as feudal tribes and
lords traffic, exploit and abuse women.


1
Waderos takes 5 to 10 percent commission for each woman they sell to
another tribe7
Waderos also exploit and abuse the women
Qureshi, Rashida, and Jane F. Rarieya. Gender and Education in Pakistan. New York: Oxford
University Press, 2007.
2
Ibid
3
World Vision. Pakistan: Poverty Unveiled.. 14 May 2008
<http://meero.worldvision.org/sf_pakistan.php>.
4
Ibid
5
CIA FACTBOOK. The World Factbook- Pakistan. 15 May 2008. 15 May 2008
<http://https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pk.html#People>.
6
CIA. World Factbook- Saudi Arabia. 15 May 2008. 15 May 2008
<http://https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sa.html#People>.
7
Malick, Nabila, Ishrat Saleem, and Insha Hamdani. "Section One: Case Studies."Karo Kari, TorTora,
Siyahkari, Kala Kali ():23-25.
 There have also been incidents reported of Waderos themselves getting married
to the accused or of giving her to their sons or else of subjecting her to sexual
abuse without laying any overt claim over her8
 Throughout Pakistan, millions of sharecroppers like Khan work on land they do
not own, giving between half and two-thirds of their crops to landlords9
Counter Argument:
 The government of Pakistan does not regard feudalism as much as they regard
terrorism, and the many issues that Pakistan has with violence. Although this is
true, after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto there has been a lot of controversy
around the treatment of women in Pakistan.
Argument 3: Poverty plays a large role in the occurrences of Honour
Killings, and the government of Pakistan is not doing enough to improve
poverty rates.






24% of Pakistanis are living below the poverty line as of 200810
Nearly one fourth of the population is classified as poor as of October 200611
Out of 40 million people living below the poverty line, 30 million live in rural
areas12
Pakistan’s legal system regarded as discriminatory towards women is a
contributing factor to gender bias and poverty for women which results from it13
Children are vulnerable to receiving sexually transmitted diseases such as hiv and
aids14
48 million people survive with under US$2.00 a day15
Counter Argument:
 Poverty rates have increased in comparison to how bad they were during and
post-partition in 1947, therefore the Pakistani government has made an
improvement with decreasing poverty rates.
8
Malick, Nabila, Ishrat Saleem, and Insha Hamdani. "Section One: Case Studies."Karo Kari, TorTora,
Siyahkari, Kala Kali ():23-25.
9
Ibid.
10
CIA . CIA- World Factbook. 1 MAY. 2008. 14 MAY. 2008
<http://https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pk.html#People>.
11
Dawn Newspaper. World Bank, UNDP Question Poverty Estimates in Pakistan.. 14 May 2008
<http://southasia.oneworld.net/article/view/135153/1/1893>.
12
Qureshi, Rashida, and Jane F. Rarieya. Gender and Education in Pakistan. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2007.
13
Human Rights Watch. PAKISTAN: WOMEN FACE THEIR OWN CRISIS. 19 Oct. 1999. 14 May 2008
<http://www.hrw.org/press/1999/oct/pakpr.htm>.
14
World Vision. Pakistan: Poverty Unveiled.. 14 May 2008
<http://meero.worldvision.org/sf_pakistan.php>.
15
Ibid