Corporation for Public Broadcasting

This one-hour documentary concerns the deeply entrenched tradition of honor killings in Pakistan. In parts of Pakistan today, women are perceived as property of men and are believed to embody the honor of their families. Local tribal assemblies known as jirgas often declare a woman kari—which literally means “black female” or “tainted woman”—when she has married someone of her own will or rumors have spread of a woman acting “dishonorably.” To restore the family’s honor, the family or the tribe must kill these women. Most, if not all, documentaries about honor killings tell stories of women who have already been murdered. This film takes a new approach. It shows the struggle of two women who have been declared kari and survive attempted honor killings. In video diaries and verité-style scenes, they tell their stories in the first person. They reveal their struggles with abuse, their heroic escape and what it takes to survive in Pakistan once a woman has been declared a kari.