"Honor" in Pakistan is defined by men. Women who defy those standards are often murdered by male family members. The practice seems to be spreading from rural areas into the city, claiming an estimated 1,100 victims last year, despite outspoken denunciation from both political and religious leaders. PNS commentator Muddassir Rizvi is a Pakistani journalist specializing in development issues, whose work appears in several weekly and monthly publications.

Two young women, sisters 20 and 21 years old, were killed last month in a Punjab village, their throats sliced as they slept.

Their killers, a brother and a cousin wielding axes, acted because the women had been talking to men other than their relatives.

"They brought shame to the family -- they were morally corrupt," the father of the slain sisters told reporters, with no sign of remorse. He is now trying to secure the release of his son and nephew.

Najma and Firdaus were the victims of honor -- honor as defined by men. They would not have been killed had they listened to the dictates of the men -- their father, brothers and male relatives.

The two are among hundreds of women killed every year in the name of honor in Pakistan. According to the country's prestigious Human Rights Commission (HRCP), more than 1,100 women were killed last year. Most "honor killers" are brothers or husbands. The "dishonor" can be as simple as talking or sitting next to a man other than a family relative. The only punishment is death.

This tradition, seen in rural areas for centuries, is becoming more and more visible in urban centers and among educated and liberal families.

Last year, Samia Sarwar, seeking a divorce, secured the services of HRCP lawyers. But before any papers were filed, she was shot dead by a man accompanying her mother in the HRCP office in Lahore. Hailing from an educated family, Samia lost her life for defying the centuries-old tradition that did not allow divorce.

Humaira, daughter of a parliamentarian and religious scholar, was hounded by her family because she married the man of her choice. Her family had vowed to kill the couple, but they were lucky to escape the country.

There has been a misconception that honor killing is approved by religious extremists in Pakistan. This is certainly not the case. Indeed, when women's rights groups launched a campaign against honor killing after Samia's murder last year and brought the case to the Pakistani parliament, the most progressive political leaders were the ones who defended the practice.

Ajmal Khattak, leader of the nationalist and progressive Awami National Party, took the floor to oppose a resolution condemning honor killing.

In contrast, the rightist Jamaat-i-Islami Party has recently declared that honor killing has nothing to do with Islam. "Muslim faith doesn't allow killing of women in the name of honor," said party chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed, though his party supports Islamic laws that human rights groups call discriminatory against women.

Social scientists say that honor killing is the crude expression of men's desire to control women and their sexuality. For them, Samia was not killed because she wanted to break a family tradition, but because she wanted to take control of her body.

Kauser S. Khan, with Aga Khan University in Karachi, has written, "It is female sexuality that men in Pakistan are most worried about. Their own sexuality is not an issue -- it is there to be satisfied, and they do it at will."

Human rights groups say a whole transformation of attitudes is needed, but for the time being they advocate a legal deterrent in the shape of strict punishment to discourage men from taking the lives of women.

The military government of Gen. Pervez Musharraf has criticized honor killing. "We will treat the honor killings as murder under the law. This practice has to end," commented the country's Interior Minister Moenuddin Haider recently.

But nothing has so far been done -- no changes to the legal system, judicial system or police system to discourage the honor killings. Police also sympathize with the culprits and at times are even reluctant to arrest them, noted the HRCP report.

Police defend inaction in these cases, saying they only act when somebody presses charges. If the victim's family is a partner in the crime and does not file a case, "What are we supposed to do?" one policeman asked.

While the government drags its feet on introducing laws against honor killings, and rights groups step up their campaign, the killers of Najma and Firdaus may be out of the jail.