In Pakistan, a 40-year-old laborer slit the throats of his three daughters, along with a step-daughter he accused of adultery, right in front of their mother who was cradling his son.
Far be it from me to question the nitty gritty of certain religions and whathaveyou, but what kind of philosophy leads a man to murder his own children to avert the "possibility of adultery?" Where is the honor in slitting your two-year-old daughter's throat when she has done nothing wrong? How much honor are you saving when you slay your three daughters - the oldest at 8! - in front of their mother?
In 2004 in Pakistan, more than 500 women were killed by family members in instances of "honor killing." Isolated case or not, this Pakistani individual is evidence of a deeper problems of a system that prizes honor trumping blood, logic, however twisted, over emotion, revenge over forgiveness.
My beef is not with the stepdaughter, although the news article does make mention of the double standard so blatantly evident in Pakistani society, where the woman has no rights. My beef is with the coldhearted murder of three little girls who could've been raised to not commit the crime of which their father accused their stepsister.
Human rights commissions have every right (pun unintended) to raise a ruckus over this wanton murder of little girls and women who have been judged guilty even before trial. Every person has a right to her/his own beliefs, but I believe the right to life in cases where no wrongdoing has been committed should hold universal.
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