This study begins with the story of Samia Sarwar. At age 17, Samia married her cousin through an arranged marriage. When Samia tried to obtain a divorce, her relatives hired an assassin to kill her. Although this was a murder, Pakistani law allowed Samia’s mother and uncle, the most apparent accomplices in her murder, to remain free. As expected, under the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance, Samia’s parents forgave the murderer they hired to kill their daughter. Since 1999, several amendments to Pakistan’s Penal Code (PPC), particularly the 2004 amendment and the Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act of 2006, introduce legislative action to end honor killings and gender discriminatory legal practices in Pakistan. Until the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance is removed from the PPC, however, perpetrators of honor killings need not fear retribution because many commit their crimes with the consent of family members. Pakistan must revoke its Qisas and Diyat Ordinance in order to stop these heinous murders from going unpunished and to prevent discrimination against women within Pakistan in accordance with international human rights law.

This article will examine all aspects of the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance and its significance to the women and laws of Pakistan: its place within Pakistan’s parallel legal systems; the history of Shariah laws and the birth of the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance; the role of Islam in the perpetuation of the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance; how the tradition of honor killings finds a safe haven in the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance; how the act runs counter to the constitution of Pakistan; and how the Qisas and Diyat Ordinance violates international law.