Honour Killing Frames in Pakistan: Thematic Analysis of Pakistani English Newspaper

Mehr un Nisa; Shahzeb Shafi*; Alvina Imdad

Mehr un Nisa Lecturer (English), Edwardes College, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Ph.D Linguistics (Scholar), Lincoln University College, Malaysia.
Shahzeb Shafi* MPhil English Linguistics (Scholar), Department of English (Graduate Studies), National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad, Capital Territory, Pakistan
Alvina Imdad MPhil English Literature, Department of English, Qurtuba University, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Abstract

The social custom of honour killings is practised brutally in many societies world, and the situation in Pakistan is no different. This qualitative study explored the underline themes associated with such killings in four (4) editorials from ‘The Dawn’ newspaper published in the English language in Pakistan. The thematic analysis was completed in the light of Kardam’s Dynamics of Honour Killings Model (Forensic Analysis) and Goffman’s Frame Analysis (Narrative Analysis) techniques. The current investigation revealed that the issue of honour killings is socially and economically constructed; however, it is supported on wrong frames by cultural values and religious authorities, providing suspects with an accessible and sympathetic escape.

Keywords: Honour killings, The Dawn, society, thematic analysis, frame analysis.