New Delhi, Oct 28 (IANS) Alarmed at the rising number of “honour killings” in the country - the latest being in the national capital when a man was murdered and his wife tortured for marrying within the same clan - the ministry of women and child development is planning to launch awareness campaigns against the “social evil”.
Cases of honour killings - a term to describe murder of one family member by another where the killer believes the victim had brought dishonour to the family - is increasingly becoming common, not just in villages but also in towns and cities.

The latest case was of a young couple who got married within their clan (gotra). Enraged, the girl’s family allegedly killed the man and tortured her, before she escaped and turned them in.

Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath, while talking about the issue, said that although it is a law and order problem, measures would be taken to sensitise people about this social evil.

“The laws are in place, yet people are not aware that this kind of killing is just a social evil. We at the ministry are drawing up a sensitisation drive to make people aware that our constitution clearly says that a person who is 18 years of age can take own decisions in life and one can’t force them to do anything by taking law in one’s hands,” Tirath said at a press conference in the capital Wednesday.

“Once people are aware and sensitised, such untoward incidents will definitely come down. We will come out with a concrete plan of action by next week,” she added.