Abstract
Honour killings described as an act of violence that include the killing of people, especially females and couples, whom members of their families feel have dishonored their clan or community. The concept of honour has found deep roots within the traditional culture and society. Violence committed in the name of honour demonstrates how traditional patriarchal values, caste ideologies, and entrenched social hierarchies continue to shape social relations in contemporary society. Therefore, honour killing cannot be viewed simply as individual aggression, rather it is indicative of the social structure operating within the culture.
Honor killers justify themselves as people attempting to restore the honor of the family lost on account of the activities engaged in by the victims, including choosing partners of their choice, marrying outside the religious and caste groups, getting divorced from one’s spouse, among others ( D’Lima, Solotaroff , & Pande, 2020; Iyengar & Varghese, 2024).
In India, honor killings occur in situations where people violate the boundaries set forth by the society concerning religion, caste, community, family prestige and marriage. Honor killings arise out of patriarchal social institutions whereby the family and community's honor are given more preference compared to the honor of the individual and the individual's rights (Punia & Malik, 2020) Honor killings and associated violence are the outcome of the failures of a number of support mechanisms, including the individual's family, community, and other social support organizations. Most times, the perpetrator happens to be none other than the victim’s family that exerts collective force in the context of honor killings through the victim’s isolation, coercion, violence, and even murder.
References
AlQahtani, S. M., Almutairi, N. F., & Alharbi, A. S. (2022). Global patterns and underreporting of honour killings. Healthcare, 11(1), 74. Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/11/1/74
Ann S. Masten (2014). Ordinary Magic: Resilience in Development. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
D’Lima, T., Solotaroff, J. L., & Pande, R. P. (2020). For the Sake of Family and Tradition: Honour Killings in India and Pakistan. ANTYAJAA: Indian Journal of Women and Social Change, 5(1), 22–39.
Heydari, A., Teymoori, A., & Trappes, R. (2021). Honour killings as a global social phenomenon: A critical perspective. Current Sociology. https://doi.org/10.1177/0539018421994777
Iyengar, R., & Varghese, M. (2024). Honour killing among women in India: A scoping review. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/
Kayani, A. I., & Khan, M. M. (2024). Honour killings in Pakistan: Socio-cultural dynamics and legal reforms. International Journal of Contemporary Issues in Social Sciences. Retrieved from https://ijciss.org/index.php/ijciss/article/view/1116
Lawrence, J. (2025). Habitus of honour: A cultural perspective on violence in Tamil Nadu. Journal of Social Theory. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-025-00433-0
Nair, R. (2020). Honour-based Violence: Awareness and Recognition. Paediatrics and Child Health, 30(11), 365–370.
Nallathambi, K. (2023). Psychosocial perspective of honour killing. Journal of Social and Behavioral Studies. https://doi.org/10.1177/2455328X231163759
Pandey, S., & Nagar, R. (2024). Gender-based ‘honour’ killings in northern India: A feminist perspective. Journal of Gender Studies. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/
Prabhakaran, R. (2025). Tamil Nadu and honour killing: The horror. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/
Punia, V., & Malik, L. (2020). The Legacy of Blood and Glory: Unearthing the Social Panorama of Honour Killings. Indian Journal of Social Psychiatry, 36(1), 47–54.
Rahbari, L. (2023). State responses to honour-based violence in Iran: A critical analysis. Societies, 13(11), 229. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc13110229
Rai, A. (2023). A comparative analysis on honour killing in India and Sweden. Retrieved from https://papers.ssrn.com/
Sangari, P., & Socretes, S. (2024). Honour killing in Tamil Nadu: A socio-legal analysis. Retrieved from https://papers.ssrn.com/
Singh, P., & Bhandari, M. (2021). Legacy of honour and violence: A cross-cultural analysis. SAGE Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211022323
Talha, M., Ahmed, Z., & Raza, S. (2024). Legal inefficiencies and honour killings in Pakistan: Challenges and reforms. Pakistan Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. Retrieved from https://journals.internationalrasd.org/index.php/pjhss/article/view/2438
Ungar, M. (2011). The social ecology of resilience: Addressing contextual and cultural ambiguity of a nascent construct. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 81(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1939-0025.2010.01067.x