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"Honour" Killings: Eu Tu Kerala?


                          

 Kerala is considered to be one of the most progressive  states of India. But it seems to be taking a regressive path if the number of  honour killings is anything to go by. The killing by male members of a female family member who is perceived to have brought dishonour upon the family is called an honour killing. It is true that the number of honour killings is low in kerala  when compared to the  north Indian states like Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana. But according to The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) five honour  killings have taken place in kerala since 2014.This information is quite disturbing.
 
Marriage is viewed as an economic and social institution in India; and great importance is given to the socio-economic advantages that the alliance brings to the families concerned. The emotional or intellectual compatibility of the spouses is not considered mandatory for the survival of the marriage. Hence, even to this day, falling in love before marriage is seen as an anti-social act by Indians; and the honour killings that catch the headlines of newspapers prove this to be true.

The system of arranging  marriages based on all the rigid norms of caste and community is still going strong in India. Inter-religious and inter-caste marriages are still rare here The caste system in India rests primarily on each community maintaining control over the purity and sexuality of its womenfolk through oppressive practices like child marriage, arranged marriage, dress code etc. All patriarchal societies hold the view that women should have no right to personhood or self-determination. Family is considered to be the sacrosanct domain of chaste and obedient women who are the repositories of the honour of both the male and female members of the family. When a  woman chooses to break out of patriarchal control and dares to choose her own mate from a caste or religion other than her own, she is considered to have brought dishonor on her family. Honour is perceived to be restored when the wayward woman is murdered. Sometimes, the hapless mate she had chosen also meets with the same fate.

 The latest honour killing to catch the headlines in kerala is the Kevin Joseph case. Kevin, hailing from Kottayam, had married Ninu Chacko on the 26th of May,2018 as per the Special Marriage Act. Two days after his marriage Kevin was found dead in a canal in Chaliyekara, Kollam, after he was abducted by the male relatives of his wife. Ninu belonged to an upper-class Syrian Christian family and  her family had been vehemently opposed to her marriage to Kevin, a poor Dalit Christian. In kerala, just two months ago, a 23 year old Thiyya girl named Athira who had fallen in love with a Dalit had been stabbed to death by her father on the eve of her marriage as he considered that her  marriage to a Dalit would bring disgrace on his family. High time we drafted  a stringent law to deal specifically with honour crimes.

Bhadra

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