"Honour crimes are gender crimes. A girl's family feels as if they own their daughter's sexuality," said Supreme Court advocate Kirti Singh. Singh was speaking at a seminar organised by the Indian Women's Press Corps to discuss the issue of the khap panchayats' clout over rural society in certain parts of northwestern India.Khap panchayat's rulings violated the right to privacy and the family's dignity, she said, adding that cases of honour killing were escalating.