A CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF HONOR KILLING LAW BY APPLYING FAIRCLOUGH MODEL

Abstract

The study aims to analyze the legal discourse of honor killing in Pakistan and factor like gender-specific violence, patriarchy, primitive social and cultural norms that influence honor killing. The research further dives into the legal framework of honor killing and its historical evolution through the time. Subsequently, explaining honor killing as a cultural phenomenon in Pakistan that is utilized to control women’s actions by placing the responsibility of family’s honor on their shoulder. The concept of honor is frequently justified in patriarchal Pakistani society where a woman’s mere action of choosing a spouse, showing free will and presenting themselves as an independent individual can threaten their family honor. Such actions of women supposedly can question the manhood of a man and make the society question his control and dominance towards the women of their family. The research also explains the inclusivity of Islam in Pakistan’s legislation, as Pakistan is an Islamic state, by utilizing the concepts of Qisas and Fisad-fil-Arz. Although Quran and Hadith completely denies the concept of honor killing but still a lot of Islamic institutions because of cultural influence tries to justify honor killing. The gap between formal law and local cultural practices makes implementation of law an arduous task. Further the research analyses legal language through the practical three-dimensional model of Norman Fairclough in critical discourse analysis. Fairclough’s model is a three-level analytical model: Interpretation, description and Explanation. This model elaborates the interplay between the language and power within a text. Through the textual analysis of the legal documents relative to honor killing is that it does reveal that the state does recognize this heinous crime as criminal offence but through its legislations it fails to address the patriarchal and ingrained cultural norms that promotes honor killing.