The Supreme Court’s attention has been drawn by NGO Shakti Vahini in its petition on the “honour killings” to nine parameters used for denigrating the women and urged the apex court to have a deep look into these “honour codes” to lay down the guidelines to save the fairer sex from any kind of social discrimination.
The NGO, in a well researched PIL, also came out with startling revelation that the khap panchayats making a lot of hue and cry on the issue of “same gotra” marriages, had only been targeting people from the lower socio-economic strata and “ignored” solemnisation of such marriages by the “influential” persons.
The nine parameters fixed for demeaning a woman to link her behaviour with “social honour” listed by the NGO, include loss of virginity outside marriage, pre-marital pregnancy, infidelity, unapproved relationships, refusing arranged marriage, asking for divorce, seeking custody of children in marital dispute, leaving marital home without permission, falling victim of rape and community interaction.
The elders in the clan or family who wield authority, have set these “honour codes” for young women in feudalistic society in order to make them the subject of subjugation. While evaluating the behaviour of a woman on these codes, the elders arbitrarily decide what acts were “honourable or dishonourable” and their actions to enforce them often end up in severe punishment and violent action against the women, the NGO said.
“Many of these (codes) relate either to loss of reputation or virtue through autonomous behaviour such as unapproved relationships, seeking divorce by a woman; and if she falls a victim of rape, others relate more to her actions that jeopardise the marriage agreement brokered within the families,” the PIL said.
Quoting extensively from the 2007 study report of Kurukshetra University on “khap panchayats”, Shakti Vahini said “these caste entities try to suppress the gotras which are on the lower-socio-economic strata. Influential familes get away with the breaking the traditionally sanctioned norms, which they uphold for others or appropriate norms as it suits them.” “Khaps create ruckus because of the apathetic attitude of the administration,” she said further.