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 Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy's film, "A Girl in the River: The Price
of Forgiveness", follows the story of a young woman who survived
being beaten, shot and thrown into a river by her father and
uncle after marrying a man without their approval.
Sharif on Monday reiterated that his government was in the
process of pushing a law to stop the killings.
"Women like Ms. Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy are not only a pride for
the Pakistani nation but are also a significant source of
contribution toward the march of civilization in the world,"
Sharif said in a statement lauding the Oscar win in the category
of Best Documentary (Short Subject).
The Oscar win is the second for director Obaid-Chinoy, who in
2012 won Pakistan's first Oscar for a documentary on the horrors
endured by women who suffer acid attacks.
Domestic abuse, economic discrimination, honor killings and acid
attacks made Pakistan the world's third most dangerous country
for women, a 2011 Thomson Reuters Foundation expert poll showed.
More than 500 men and women died in honor killings in 2015,
according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).
Most were never prosecuted.
But on Monday, after a six-year trial, a court in the eastern
city of Lahore sentenced two brothers to death for killing their
sister in 2009 for marrying a man of her choice.
"A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness" tells the story
of 19-year-old Saba from Punjab province who survived her
attempted killing but was pressured to forgive her attackers.
The forgiveness option under the country's existing law can
effectively waive a complainant's right to seek punishment
against the accused, even in the case of attempted murder.
[to top of second column] |
 Obaid-Chinoy told Reuters earlier that she hoped the film
would further raise awareness about honor killings.
"It's not something that is part of our religion or culture. This
is something that should be treated as pre-meditated murder and
people should go to jail for it," she said.
Altering the law to remove the possibility of "forgiveness" could
help reduce the number of honor killings in Pakistan.
Others in Pakistan hope the attention the film has received might
help push changes through.
"She has been able to motivate the prime minister of Pakistan who
until her film has not taken any step on this issue," said Sughara
Imam, who last year introduced a bill in the upper house of
parliament to change the law on honor killings.
The bill did not pass, however, and it is not clear exactly how
Sharif proposes to change the law.
"He will have to take some bold steps... Words from the PM are
really not enough," said Zohra Yusuf, chairman of the HRCP.
(Additional reporting by Asad Hashim, Syed Raza Hassan and Mubasher
Bukhari; Editing by Nick Macfie)
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