For those of you who studied Criminology, or opened any British newspaper on January 25th 2006, this might be a familiar subject, but for the rest it will give you goosebumps. In South London, England a 20 years old girl, Kurdish descent, was reported missing. After a long investigation, her body was found in a suitcase buried in the garden. The murderers were no others than her own family. The reason they did this is that she decided to leave her abusive husband and date another man. The act brought shame to the family and had to be punished. This case was depicted in the movie Banaz: A Love Story, directed and produced by Deeyah Khan. It was a case of honour killing, and it was one of the 5000 reported every year around the globe.
This article covers the following points:
- Definition And Explanation: men vs. women
- Other Forms Of Honour Violence
- Honour Killings In Modern World
- Persecution of the perpetrators?!
Definition And Explanation
Honour crimes/killings are defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as the murdering of a family member as part of a traditional practice, because it is believed that particular member brought shame to the family[8].
For example, in the Indian social framework, family constitutes a potent force in social structure. The honour of the family, based on the patriarchal ideology, can be gained or lost based on the wealth, power and behaviour of the family members. Both male and female members of the family can jeopardize the honour of the family via different behaviors as they embody notions of honour in different ways[2].
Men’s honor vs. women’s honor
For example, history tells us that some men in India believe that their dominance has been compromised by the post-colonial legal empowerment of women, thus they must restore the hierarchy and control women through concepts of “shame” and “honour”.
Moreover, as the ability to procreate is considered outside male control, women can be seen as a malevolent and destructive force[3]. Therefore, the majority of family honour lies on the women's shoulders, on their body, their behavior, and reproducing capacity [2]. In contrast, males honour their family by trying to protect the women, by controlling them, selecting their partners to cast endogamy and ensure patriliny. Endogamy means marrying within a specific group, or in-marriage. Patriliny is the idea that the family blood is passed through the father, and thus, the family lineage must be protected.
As a result, the women become objectified; they become the sexual property of men even after the men’s death[7]. The religious beliefs dictate that “women ought not to be entrusted with responsibilities as they are short-tempered, full of passion, envious and stupid; have no place in public assemblies, do not carry on business and do not earn their living by any profession” [9]. Paradoxical women are to be protected, while they are rendered an object of violence. These ideological beliefs make the violence against women (who are members of the family) legitimized under patriarchal order. The violence is born when the shame upon the family is brought usually by the female member who engaged in sexual activity before marriage, or married outside the social lawyer she supposed to marry. Leaving the husband for another man is also considered an immoral behaviour. To restore the family honor, the women are beaten, and in some cases, even killed. “Karo-kari” is the term used in the Sindh region of Pakistan to signify adultery. When a woman is considered a “kari” the family members feel they are authorized to kill her and her “Karo” (the male with who she had sexual relations) to restore the honour[6].
They believe it is difficult to bring the girls back into the traditional biradari (“brotherhood”) network, therefore killing them seems the simpler choice. Eliminating the girl who brought shame means eliminating the stigma. Meanwhile, there's no stigma attached to the perpetrators as they sacrifice their family bonds and love to purify the family.
Around 5000 honour killings are registered every year around the globe in communities from South East Asia, prevalent in India and Pakistan, Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries.
Other Forms Of Honour Violence
Most of the victims are women and girls, however, boys can be the victims too.
Besides the honour crimes, there are other forms of honour based violence[4] such as:
- Physical abuse
- Psychological abuse and pressure (humiliation, threats)
- Forced suicide
- Forced Abortion
Amongst the causes for this violence we can enumerate:
- Conflicts regarding the inheritance
- Sexual activity outside the marriage
- Elopement of the young couples
- Rebellion against the family ways
- Insulting someone in the family
- Not obeying to the decision of an arranged marriage
- Homosexuality
- Even not taking part in the violence against another family member when that member has dishonored the family, is considered a reason for violence.
Honour killings in modern world
Although it is believed that these practices are mostly religious and culture based, Heydari[5] comes with another approach arguing that the crimes are the result of a desire for informal social control. Thinking that only religion, sexism and culture are responsible for the murders is shallow and orientalist as these murders are born more often in modern society amongst marginalised groups. The transition from rural to urban, from tradition to modern, can be the catalyst of these violent acts as those people still value the close knit groups for their reproduction, social organisation and economic production. The transition towards modernity did not offer a viable alternative to the social organisation their roots require, hence, remaining in a smaller group was evolutionary logical. The small knit groups are better able to create consensus, share norms, values and are more efficient against outside threats. Being born and raised in such groups increases the identification with them and as a result, based on Social Identity Theory, increases the conformity to the pre-established group norms and values. The honour system is an effective way for these small communities to protect their members when there is no social protection from the state. Thus, honour killings, and honour violence are a way for the group to maintain their social bonds, values and create order[5].
Persecution Of The Perpetrators?!
International human rights law recognises honour killings as violence against women that are a threat to their security and life. They also violate the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). CEDAW obligates States to protect women and prevent the violence against them.
There have been numerous attempts to stop honours crimes. In 2002 and 2004 the UN brought a resolution to end honour crimes and proposed reopening old cases to be reanalysed. However, in most cases, honour killings are not classified as killings but as domestic violence or femicide. In Muslim countries the sentences for these crimes is very light[1]. Unfortunately, if the UN would pressure more countries such as Pakistan to stop honour killing via different means (such as financial sanctions) this would have severe consequences on the country's economy, and its people as well, hence this can become difficult. However, in 2004 they ammended in Pakistan the Criminal Act that makes the violence against women and honour killings a punishable offence by law.
At a conference in Britain a senior police officer declared that Honour killings should not be eradicated alone by the police and the help of the community itself is needed.
Additional Sources:
Banaz: A Love Story - movie
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsKvrQbfyAo
https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/8/1/murdered-women-a-history-of-honour-crimes
References:
Chesler, P. (2010). Worldwide trends in honor killings. Middle east quarterly.
Chowdhary, P. (2007). Contentious Marriages, Eloping Couples: Gender, Caste and Patriarchy in
Northern India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Dewan, V. K. (2000). Law Relating to Offences against Women. New Delhi: Orient Law House.
Government.nl. 2021. What forms of honour-based violence are there?. [online] Available at:
<https://www.government.nl/topics/honour-based-violence/question-and-answer/what-forms-of-honour-based-violence-are-there> [Accessed 1 December 2021].
Heydari, A., Teymoori, A., & Trappes, R. (2021). Honor killing as a dark side of modernity:
Prevalence, common discourses, and a critical view. Social Science Information, 0539018421994777.
Khan, A. (1999). Mobility of women and access to health and family planning services in
Pakistan. Reproductive health matters, 7(14), 39-48.
Liddle, J., & Joshi, R. (1986). Daughters of Independence: Gender, Caste and Class in India.
New Delhi: Kali for Women & London: Zed Books.
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Honor killing. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved
December 5, 2021, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/honor%20killing
Sreenivasa Murthy, H. V. (1993). History of India. Lucknow: Eastern Book Company.