A comparative study of the coverage of violence against women in the mainstream Pakistani English newspaper

Abstract

Violence against women has continued to be a universal menace that has tortured in innumerable ways. It is one of the most invasive of human rights violations, denying women’s right to enjoy basic freedoms, their status of equality and their dignity (Stephanie, 2005). The issue of violence against women is prevalent in every country of the world. Even though violence against women in illegal in almost every country, however; this violation of human rights is still practiced under the shadow of culture, norms and religious teachings. Not a single society can proclaim to be a violence free society; the difference lies in the trends and patterns that vary in different regions (Alice, 2000). Women in Pakistan are killed in the name of honor because they are guilty of marrying according to their own choice, which is considered as a serious offense against the cultural and religious norms and values, so a certain section of our society do not appreciate such actions taken by women. Therefore, if the family of a woman finds any of her action as disrepute to the family name or which brings bad fame to the family, that woman must be killed so as to restore the honor of the family. This phenomenon is known as honor killing, which is a decision made by the elders of the family or tribe (Brohi, 2008).