PLEASE READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY!! Hello, I need to write a research paper on "How Muslim Communities and Leaders Tackle Honor Killings in Pakistan." The research methodology is content/media an

Global Islams

Research Plan

Research Topic: Muslim Communities and Honor Killings

Research Question: How do Muslim communities and leaders tackle honor killings in Pakistan?

Proof of Passion: I have grown up in Pakistan hearing about women and young girls being murdered in the name of honor. As a young girl, it was hard for me to grasp the idea of how a father or a brother can kill his own daughter/sister, labeling it as something Islam tells them to do. The more I grew up, I understood, it was never about Islam, it was just about egotistical men wanting control and power over the women. I have always wanted to learn and understand more about what is being done to protect these women. What are Pakistani religious leaders/scholars doing to prevent these heinous acts? I hear about these killings even in today’s world, in 2025, I still hear about these cases, and it makes me furious!

For my research project, I would like to dig deep into the reasoning behind how these people justify this act and what measures are being taken to put an end to it. More specifically, I would like to investigate how Muslim leaders and communities approach this issue.

Research Methods: I want to examine specific case studies, academic readings, and documentaries/interviews from Pakistan. (Media Analysis)

Academic Readings

In Class Sources:

Abbink, Jon. 2020 “Religion and violence in the Horn of Africa: Trajectories of mimetic rivalry and escalation between ‘political Islam’ and the State.”

Abu-Lughod, Lila, 2013. “Do Muslim Women (Still) Need Saving?” in Do Muslim Women Need Saving?

Bonci, Alessandra. 2021, “Pious and illiberal Muslim activist women resisting Tunisianité in post-2011 Tunisia.”

Dutta, Sagnik. 2022. “Becoming equals: the meaning and practice of gender equality in an Islamic feminist movement in India.”

Hamdy, Sherene. 2012. Our Bodies Belong to God: Organ Transplants, Islam, and the Struggle for Human Dignity in Egypt.

Safi, Louay M. 2021. Islam and the Trajectory of Globalization: Rational Idealism and the Structure of World History.

Outside Sources:

Akbar, N. (2009). A case of honor killings in Balochistan, Pakistan. Postcolonial Text, 5(2). https://postcolonial.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/P2.2.3.pdf

Amnesty International. (2002). Pakistan: Insufficient protection of women. https://www.amnesty.org/es/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/asa330062002en.pdf

Khan, S. (2020). Exploring the socio-cultural factors underlying honor killings in Pakistan. Journal of Political Studies, 27(1), 23-38. https://www.journalppw.com/index.php/jpsp/article/download/16956/10731/21414

Korteweg, A. C. (2012). Understanding honour killing and honour-related violence in the immigration context: Implications for the legal profession and beyond. Canadian Criminal Law Review, 16(2), 135-160. https://cdhpi.ca/sites/cdhpi.ca/files/korteweg_cclr-understanding-honour-killing.pdf

Shah-Davis, S. (2011). 'Honour killings' in Pakistan and compliance of law. https://www.af.org.pk/pub_files/1366345831.pdf

Terman, R. (2010). To specify or single out: Should we use the term "honor killing"? Muslim World Journal of Human Rights, 7(1). https://rochelleterman.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/mwjhr.2010.7.1.1162.pdf

Bhanbhro, Sadiq, M. Rafique Wassan, Muhbat Shah, Ashfaq A. Talpur, and Aijaz Ali Wassan. "Karo Kari: the murder of honour in Sindh Pakistan: an ethnographic study." International Journal of Asian Social Science 3, no. 7 (2013): 1467-1484.

Huda, Sadia, and Anila Kamal. "Honor Killings in Pakistan: Unveiling of Myths and Misuses of the Term." Women & Criminal Justice (2025): 1-11.

Muhammad, Niaz, M. M. Ahmed, Abdullah Abdullah, Fazle Omer, and N. H. Shah. "Honor killing in Pakistan: An Islamic perspective." Asian Social Science 8, no. 10 (2012): 180-185.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1881836

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/30/world/asia/pakistan-new-york-honor-killing.html

https://www.dawn.com/news/1271213

https://www.dw.com/en/a-daughter-killed-by-her-family-a-story-of-love-and-honor/a-46362212

https://youtu.be/xwqOTXRZR7g?si=IYc3x_DVxLhMa61J

https://youtu.be/aiDBFK1Sb8I?si=x6zB0umDyy_sIR4A