Pakistani Journalist Wins Oscar for Honour Killing Documentary

Obaid-Chinoy has already won an Oscar in the same category for Saving Face, a film about acid attacks in Pakistan. (Photo: Reuters)

Pakistani journalist Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy has won the Oscar – Documentary Short Film.

Obaid-Chinoy has already won an Oscar in the same category for Saving Face, a film about acid attacks in Pakistan.

The film, which follows the story of a young woman, who survived attempted murder by her father and uncle after marrying a man without their approval, was nominated for an Oscar in January, prompting Pakistan’s Prime Minister to pledge to take a firm stand against the “evil” practice.

More than 500 men and women died in honour killings in 2015, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness, tells the story of 19-year-old Saba from Pakistan’s Punjab province.

After marrying a man without the agreement of her family, Saba’s father and uncle beat her, shot her in the face, put her in a bag and threw her in a river, leaving her for dead.

Saba survived, and set out to ensure that her attackers were brought to justice.

Her father and uncle were arrested and went to jail, but Saba was pressured to “forgive” her attackers. That option under Pakistani law can effectively waive a complainant’s right to seek punishment against the accused, even in the case of attempted murder.

Altering the law to remove the possibility of “forgiveness” could help reduce the number of honour killings in Pakistan, advocates of such a change say.

An act that would amend the law across Pakistan was passed by one house of parliament last year, but did not clear the other chamber due to delays, said Sughra Imam, who introduced the bill when she was a lawmaker.

Both she and Obaid-Chinoy hope the attention the film has received abroad and at home, including from Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, might help push the amendments through.