‘50 cases of ‘honour’ crimes reported in Uttar Pradesh last year’

A woman decided to leave her house as her family was forcing her to marry a man without her consent. When she took a tough stand against this, the family tried to trouble her in all possible ways – by lodging false criminal cases, tarnishing her character, giving life threats etc.

This is just one of the many cases where men and women are tortured in the name of ‘honour’ by their family and society.

From January to December 2017, around 50 such cases were reported in the media in UP. And 19 cases in the name of ‘honour’ were reported in January-February 2018.

The numbers were shared by Association for Advocacy and Legal Initiatives (AALI) at the UP Press Club during a press conference on the eve of women’s day.

Talking about the cases mapped by the organisation through media reports, Renu Mishra of AALI said, “Practices that violate fundamental rights of women like child marriage, forced marriage, crimes in the name of ‘honour’ still enjoy socio-cultural immunity. The option of choosing to be in a relationship by two consenting adults is not only frowned upon, but is a threat to safety and security for the couple and their allies.”

Renu said, “Twenty-one cases of ‘honour’ related murders were reported in UP during 2017 and six such cases were reported in January-February 2018. Seven cases of suicide by couples were reported in media in 2017 and three such cases have been reported till February 2018. Ten cases of violence inflicted upon women for resisting advances/relationships and seven cases of violence on women for moving out of intimate relationships were reported in 2017.”

“In our 19 years of working with women and young couples who have faced violence from their non-consenting families, the state machinery has seldom intervened in their favour,” said Renu.

The group will submit a set of suggestions to the state government on the issue.