"Fattu Shah is a remote village in the north of Pakistan's Sindh province. The drive from the nearest city, Ghotki, takes over an hour. The road narrows as it cuts through cotton fields and winds around clay-brick houses scattered across endless stretches of farmland. It's a journey Aisha Dharejo has made countless times. For the past 15 years she has been researching what locals call "the graveyard for dishonored women." "Each grave reveals the story of a woman that has been silenced," Dharejo told DW."
"The burial site for victims of "honor" killings has no tombstones and no names. Some graves are marked by broken bricks crushed into the ground, but most have nothing at all a stark contrast to the adjacent main cemetery. Dharejo explains that victims of honor killings, both women and men, are not granted dignity even in death. Their bodies are not washed or prepared for burial. There are no rituals, no final rites."
"Zarqa Shar, a local activist from a nearby village, is one of the few willing to speak publicly. She told DW that the graveyard is more than a century old. "The district is still heavily influenced by feudal landlords, who control employment, wages, and livelihoods," she told DW. Shar added that in such a system, local customs often eclipse state law, and questioning entrenched practices like honor killings can put residents in danger, ultimately cementing a culture of silence."
Fattu Shah hosts a graveyard used for victims of so-called honor killings, where graves lack tombstones, names, rituals or proper burial rites. Bodies are placed hastily in shallow pits and often covered only with mud. Aisha Dharejo has researched the site for 15 years and documents the absence of dignity afforded to these victims. Local activist Zarqa Shar describes a century-old graveyard and a district dominated by feudal landlords who control livelihoods. Feudal influence allows local customs to eclipse state law and perpetuate a culture of silence around premeditated murders carried out by relatives who claim family 'shame.'
Read at www.dw.com
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