This combination of four pictures shows victims of "honor" crimes in Pakistan: Qandeel Baloch, top left, a social media star who was killed by her brother in July, 2016; Muqadas Tofeeq, top right, who local police say was killed by her mother; slain British woman Samia Shahid, whose father and ex-husband are on trial for her death; Tasleem Solangi, a 17-year-old woman who was mauled by dogs and shot to death while her father was forced to watch. Women in Pakistan have been inextricably linked by culture, tribal tradition and deep-rooted patriarchy to the âhonorâ of a family and the penalty for betraying that âhonorâ, even by doing something legal like divorce, can be death. (AP Photo)
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ISLAMABAD (AP) - Tasleem was just 18 years old when her brother shot her in the head. Her crime was marrying a man of her choice, considered a betrayal of a family's honor among many in Pakistan who live by an ancient code of conduct.
Last year, three people a day were killed in the name of "honor" in Pakistan: a total of 1,096 women and 88 men, according to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, which says the true figure is likely higher because many such crimes go unreported.
In 2014, the number was 1,005 women, including 82 children, up from 869 women killed a year earlier.
Outrage at the practice has grown in recent months as Pakistani news channels have reported on girls who are shot, strangled or burned alive, most often by a brother or a parent.
Pakistan's conservative Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has promised to introduce legislation that will remove a legal loophole that allows the family of a murder victim to effectively pardon the murderer. The loophole is often invoked in honor killings to prevent any prosecution.
"You will die awaiting justice from a court," said Mukhtar Mai, who was gang raped and paraded naked through her village as punishment for a perceived insult to the honor of a rival family by her brother.
"Girls are coming forward ... but the issue is that no one is listening to them," she said. "Every time a woman tries to stand up to the system, the man-made system pushes her down hard."
For many of the victims, who are brought up according to a strict interpretation of Islam that doesn't allow images, their only picture is one take in death.
Here is an AP photo gallery showing portraits of some of the victims. Some of the images are graphic.
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FILE - In this file picture taken on July 18, 2016, the mother of Pakistan's slain social media star Qandeel Baloch mourns besides her dead body in Shah Sadderuddin, Pakistan. Baloch grew up in a poor farming family but âalways wanted more, had different ideasâ her sister says. After escaping her childhood poverty and an abusive marriage to find online fame, she was killed by her brother in July, 2016 for refusing to live a life dictated by repressive tribal and religious traditions. (AP Photo/Asim Tanveer, File)
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FILE - In this file picture taken on July 22, 2016, a family member shows pictures of slain fashion model Qandeel Baloch, in Shah Sadderuddin, Pakistan. Baloch grew up in a poor farming family but âalways wanted more, had different ideasâ her sister says. After escaping her childhood poverty and an abusive marriage to find online fame, she was killed by her brother for refusing to live a life dictated by repressive tribal and religious traditions.(AP Photo/Asim Tanveer, File)
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FILE - In this Oct. 27, 2008 file photo, a Pakistani mother holds a picture of her daughter showing Tasleem Solangi, killed in a rural area of Pakistan's southern province of Sindh, in Karachi, Pakistan. Police investigate allegations that a 17-year-old woman was mauled by dogs and shot to death while her father was forced to watch in the latest "honor killing" case to prompt outrage in Pakistan. Women in Pakistan have been inextricably linked by culture, tribal tradition and deep-rooted patriarchy to the âhonorâ of a family and the penalty for betraying that âhonorâ, even by doing something legal like divorce, can be death. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil, File)
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In this photo taken on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016, a picture of Tasleem, who was shot by her brother, is seen with records at police headquarters in Lahore, Pakistan. Her brother, Mubeen Rajhu, said he couldn't stand the teasing, accusations and whispers from co-workers and neighbors that his sister was having an affair and with a Christian. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
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In this Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016 photo, a local journalist shows the picture of slain British woman Samia Shahid on a cell phone in Dina, near Jhelum, in eastern Pakistan. A trial is in progress against her father and ex-husband over her alleged rape and murder in the name of so-called honor. Last year more than 1,000 women were brutally killed in the name of âhonorâ, most often murdered by a brother or a parent, say human rights organizations in Pakistan. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
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EDS NOTE GRAPHIC CONTENT: In this July 3, 2000 photo, Pakistan's Samia Sarwar's body lies in an ambulance in Lahore, Pakistan. Samia, a 28-year old mother of two, was desperate for a divorce from the husband who beat her. Samia's mother promised her daughter she would help. Instead, to protect the family's honor, she allegedly hired an assassin. In 2015, more than 1,000 women were brutally killed in the name of âhonorâ, most often murdered by a brother or a parent, say human rights organizations in Pakistan. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
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In this Nov. 1, 2015 photo, Sonia Bibi, 21, suffering from burns inflicted after she refused to marry, lies in her bed at at Nishter hospital in Multan, Pakistan. A week later, she died from her wounds. Women in Pakistan have been inextricably linked by culture, tribal tradition and deep-rooted patriarchy to the âhonorâ of a family and the penalty for betraying that âhonorâ, even by doing something legal like divorce, can be death. (Photo by Asim Tanveer)
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In this June 18, 2016 photo, Mohammed Tofeeq shows a picture with his wife Muqadas Tofeeq, who local police say was killed by her mother, in Butrawala village on the outskirts of Gujranwala, Pakistan. In recent months there has been a growing outrage at the practice as a proliferation of Pakistani news channels has lifted the shroud of secrecy from the practice of killing in the name of âhonorâ, giving publicity to the incidents of mostly girls who are shot, strangled or burned alive, most often by a brother or a parent. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
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FILE - In this Monday, May 1, 2006 file photo, a Pakistani doctor examines Noor Jehan, 14, at a local hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Jehan survived a brutal attack allegedly launched by two of her male cousins, who shot her and left her for dead over a rebuffed marriage proposal. Last year, three people a day were killed in the name of "honor" in Pakistan: a total of 1,096 women and 88 men, according to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, which also says the true figure is likely higher because many such crimes go unreported. (AP Photo/Shakil Adil, File)
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FILE - In this Wednesday, June 8, 2016 file photo, Hassan Khan shows a picture of his wife Zeenat Rafiq, who was burned alive, allegedly by her mother, on a mobile phone at his home in Lahore, Pakistan. The mother was arrested after dousing her daughter with kerosene and burning her alive, allegedly because the girl had defied her family to marry the man, Hassan Khan, who she was in love with, police said. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary, File)
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