The incident in Kolkata on December 7 was another
killing in the name of "honour" and there has been
a surge in such attacks over the past several
months. Nilofar Bibi, 22, was only 14 years old when she left
home in an arranged marriage. Alleging torture
carried out by her in-laws, Bibi returned to her
parents on November 28, but vanished days later. Her brother, Mehtab Alam, 29, had discovered his
sister was living with an old boyfriend, Firoz, an
auto-rickshaw driver. Alam stormed into the home
and dragged Bibi onto the street in broad daylight. Passers-by looked on in horror as he cut off Bibi's
head while saying "she had sinned and had to be
punished". Alam left his sister's body in a pool of blood on the
road, and calmly walked to the police station, her
head in hand, to surrender himself. The siblings'
family expressed support for Alam, saying they were proud he upheld their honour.

"Honour killings" are traditionally associated with
developing countries with significant Muslim
populations, and India has been no exception. "Killing is killing. It is unconstitutional and illegal, it's
an offence. There is no 'honour' in killing," Nirmala
Samant Prabhavalkar, a member of India's National
Commission for Women (NCW), told Al Jazeera.
m.aljazeera.com/se/2012121614107670788