According to most variations of Sharia, neither Qisas nor Tazir applies if a Muslim parent or grandparent kills their child[REF] or grandchild,[REF] or if the murder victim is a spouse with whom one has surviving children [REF].
Scholars suggest that this exemption of parents and relatives from Qisas, and the treatment of homicide-related Qisas as a civil dispute that should be handled privately by victim's family under sharia doctrine, encourages honor crimes, particularly against females, as well as allows the murderer(s) to go unpunished [REF].