HONOUR IN THE NEWS: MEDIA REPRESENTATION OF HONOUR KILLINGS

NIDHI SHENDURNIKAR , RESEARCH SCHOLAR (DEPT. OF POLITICAL SCIENCE,

M.S.UNIVERSITY)

Abstract

The article focuses on the recent spurt of news on honour based crimes in India and the way
the mass media has represented stories on these happenings. Though honour based violence is
not something new; it has caught media attention only recently. Sporadic cases of honour
killings especially in the northern parts of the country have been in news and have gone
ahead to define the concept in the minds of Indians. Through an extensive literature review,
the paper seeks to examine the quality of coverage by the media as also the relation between
media and popular culture. Reporting by the media has played an important role in
developing an understanding on the issue but at the same time there are concerns of biased
and lop-sided coverage which have hurt the larger cause. Mass media has a deep impact on
culture and vice versa. The manner in which media talks about such social crimes builds
public opinion as also educates masses about regressive social practices around them. A
debate on notions of culture, honour, society and inclusiveness is sparked when the media not
only comes up with stories on such killings but also takes up a stand against them. Audience
perception about honour crimes is definitely shaped by news which they read and views
which they hear in the media. The paper tries to look at the issue not from the angle of
newsworthiness but as a larger responsibility of the fourth estate in the country to bring
such social malpractices to the limelight.

Key Words: honour, mass media, violence, news, culture, social practice, public opinion

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Why only Honour Killings?

If you happened to scan recent editions of Indian newspapers and hear news on prime time
Television (TV), chances are likely that you would read or hear about the incidences of
honour killings taking place in some parts of the country. Suddenly, the media has woken up
to the reality of these killings which were taking place even as they were not making news.
Honour killings have existed irrespective of cultural and religious differences. But these are
only the extreme form of violence in a bid to protect honour. Honour based violence has
rarely been the subject of media coverage. It is only when cases of killings appeared quite too
often, that the media chose to give it some print and broadcast space. Honour based violence
includes forced marriages, deprivation of education and freedom, lack of freedom to pursue
ones ambitions and choose ones partner, giving in to demands of dowry, mutilation, females
being sold off to slavery etc. It is only now that the media is freely talking about issues which
it ought to have raised pretty earlier. Having said this, there is no denying the fact that the
young populace has come to know about such incidences only through active reporting by the
media. Had it not been for the media, these cases of killings would have remained forever in
the dark. Hence, media attention to such serious issues does raise awareness and play a role in
mobilizing public opinion against such regressive practices. But is that enough? At a time
when we are deliberating the social responsibility of corporates, we must not forget that
media houses today are no less corporate concerned about profits in the business of news. In
this process, however, they are losing sight of their duty towards the society. We shall
examine how and what the media is saying about honour killings and relate it to the larger
role of the media in the development process.

Making News Waves

The media is undoubtedly besotted by the news of young couples who have eloped to resist
pressure and violence from their communities for marrying outside the purview of caste.
Certainly they are not smitten by the desire to tell their audiences about continuing social
violence in the name of caste and religion even as they narrate stories of Indias GDP growth.
It is more about the fact that crime makes news and this news sells. This news fetches high
TRP and readership. More so if you present it sensationally with a topping of gossip and
spice on the pretext of readers being interested in such stories! The example of a media circus
in the Aarushi Talwar murder case of Noida shows that the media is not interested in pushing
for investigations which might lead to the truth. Instead, the effort is to present their own
truth and fill news slots. The events of honour killings have been dealt with no differently.
These killings are covered by crime beat reporters as regular stories of crime with no
intention to uncover an incident which is not a simple crime but a social malaise. As in any
regular crime story, all the reporter seeks to find out is how and why the crime took place so
that it can be placed in the form of a catchy headline. The story of Rizwanur Rehmans death
in Kolkata in 2007 was initially lost in the inside pages of the newspapers as a regular crime
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story. It was only later that the media was able to highlight that it was an incident of honour
based crime as Rizwanur had married his student Priyanka, a daughter of the famous Todi
business family.

In a discussion organized by the Lucknow based Association for Advocacy of Legal

Initiatives (AALI), the role of the media in reporting such cases was under scrutiny. It was
found that the media exhibits irresponsible behaviour while reporting such stories. The
serious nature of the killings of eloped couples was toned down to give space to titillating
headlines like 'Bhai ne premdiwani behen ka sir kalam kar diya', and 'Larki ke bhaiyo ne
utara isshk ka bhoot.i This only marginalized the issue of the gross human rights violations in
such cases. It reduced the news to a petty crime and was presented in such a way that would
delight the readers of tittle-tattle. This is a disservice to the cause of even bringing the news
to audiences. We may do well to recall the example shown in the film Peepli Live where a
serious concern about farmers in debt committing suicides was reduced to a TRP fetching
item by the media. Such should not be the fate of honour killings of individuals and couples.

Why does the media have such a callous attitude when all it needs is some digging out of
details and bringing out facts? The first problem encountered is the lack of resources and time
which journalists face when they wish to cover such news. Their dependence on sources from
the law agencies also limits the scope of the story. Lack of willingness to engage in field
research, the tendency to treat these stories as regular incidence of crime hamper the
reporting of the real facts. So, the onus is not just on journalist who are out on the field but
also on editors who must overcome concerns of deadlines and space to give proper and
balanced coverage to these incidences. Of course, there are limitations that the media itself
faces and hence it cannot cover each and every incident of honour killing. Thus, stories in the
media must only be regarded as representative of this horrific practice.

The Stories of Honour

By and large, the media is not just an agency which informs us about what is happening
around us, but one which can take up the cause of public good if needed. The concepts of
Trial by the Media and Media Activism can be very well applied to the incidences of
honour killings. In many instances, for example the Jessica Lal and Priyadarshini Mattoo
murder cases, it was the media which brought out the truth and built pressure on the
government and the judicial system to bring the guilty to book. If it had not been for the
medias efforts; the rich and the powerful would have continued to exercise influence over
the countrys justice system. However, there is another side to the story as well since medias
involvement in such cases is shrouded with concerns of ethics and morality. Critics believe
that the media should restrict its role to reporting the facts and not indulge in value
judgements.

The tone of the media while it reports honour killings should be of condemnation of this
practice. At the same time they should steer clear of stereotypes. The most common
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stereotype that the English media adheres to while describing such killings is that they are a
common rural phenomenon. They make lay audiences believe that honour killings can take
place only in rural and backward settings. This creates a gross misperception about the rural
population among urban dwellers. The killings of Nirupama Pathak, a young Indian
journalist and Nitish Katara, a young business executive from Delhi took place in urban
cities. However, the English media has hammered us with too many stories on honour
killings in Haryana and the Khap Panchayats that they have come to represent the entire
scenario of honour killings in India. It would be incorrect to presume that such killings take
place only in the rural heartland of the country where backwardness and casteism is expected
to prevail. The media must also highlight cases of educated, urban, middle class families
where such incidences have happened. Sadly though, the medias story of honour killings end
up being incomplete and lop sided.

Coverage of Honour Killings in International Media

It would be essential to note that honour killings are not specific to any country or any
religion. Even the international media has been talking about the issue for quite a long time.
However, some people are of the view that only some honour killings find their way into
news whereas some others disappear into oblivion. Author of the book Womans Inhumanity
to Woman, Phyllis Chesler argues that while The New York Times, Washington Post, and
Los Angeles Times covered honour killings of Hindu couples in India, they never mentioned
a word about honour killings in Muslim countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan, Jordan
etc.ii Thus, it is the media that decides which story should reach the audiences and which one
should not. The international media has often described honour killings as the clash of
cultures due to the existence of migrants and minorities in foreign lands. Coverage by the
media has often painted a very grim picture of ethnic minorities in western countries. In
multi-cultural countries like Great Britain and the USA, the medias representation of honour
killings has influenced public opinion of Asians and other migrants who are stereotyped as
barbaric, uncivilized and non-progressive.iii There have also been reports of some cases being
projected as honour killings by the media when they were actually not. Such speculative
news can do much harm and hence the media should first verify its facts before reporting the
event. Media does tend to have its own agendas and resorts to gate keeping when covering
these stories. But the important point here is that honour killings have received media glare
not only in India but also in the international media. Media must stand against the biases of
religion, caste, community etc and should look into these incidences from a human
dimension.

Conclusion

When the media reports honour, the need of the hour is careful and sensitive reporting so as
not to incite further violence and in some cases also not to risk the lives of the people
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involved. The media can be an ally of the law agencies in procuring information about such
incidences. Many a times we have seen that journalists have access to information which
even the police does not have access to and in such times the media can be of great help in
saving some ones life. Apart from mainstream media, other alternative media outlets like
new media and community media can also be used to sensitize people on this issue. It is
commendable that apart from the press and TV, other forms of media are also taking up the
issue of honour killings. Through the medium of fiction, serials and films have managed to
raise disturbing questions about the heinous crimes that are occurring in the name of honour.
Some examples are Rishton Se BadiPratha a daily soap on Colors channel, films like
Aakrosh and When We Leave have also tackled the subject boldly. While it is not expected
of the media to bring an end to the culture of honour killings, it is certainly the medias role
to come up with true and responsible accounts of the same. This time it is the honour of the
media which is at stake!

i
http://www.thehoot.org/web/home/story.php?storyid=4312&pg=1&mod=1&sectionId=19
Retrieved on February 3, 2011
ii
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2010/07/12/phyllis-chesler-muslim-honor-killings-media/
Retrieved on February 3, 2011

Gill Aisha, Patriarchal Violence in the Name of Honour, International Journal of

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Criminal Justice Science. Vol 1 Issue 1 January 2006. Available online at

http://www.sascv.org/ijcjs/aisha.pdf