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Honor killing

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An honor killing is the murder of a victim by, or at the behest of, close family members with the aim of undoing the loss, or perceived loss, of wider family status owing to the actions or status of the victim. Victims are almost always female, and usually are killed for actions seen to be sexually immodest. The practice is most common in countries of the Middle East[citation needed]. While honour killing is widespread among rural Muslim tribes in Pakistan, Bangladesh and various Arab countries, it is much rarer in the Muslim communities of Malaysia and Indonesia, and is non-existent in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania. It had also occurred among Sikh adherents.

The United Nations Population Fund estimates that the annual worldwide total of honor-killing victims may be as high as 5,000 women. [1]

Definitions

Human Rights Watch defines "honor killings" as follows:

Honor crimes are acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members against female family members, who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family. A woman can be targeted by (individuals within) her family for a variety of reasons, including: refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, being the victim of a sexual assault, seeking a divorce — even from an abusive husband — or (allegedly) committing adultery. The mere perception that a woman has behaved in a way that "dishonors" her family is sufficient to trigger an attack on her life.[2]

For example, honor killings can sometimes target women who choose boyfriends, lovers or spouses outside of their family's ethnic and/or religious community.

Similarly, in certain cultures a raped single woman will garner no bride price if she marries; thus she will be regarded as a worthless burden on the family, which can be a death sentence.

Some women who bridge social divides, publicly engage other communities, or adopt some of the customs or the religion of an outside group may thus also be attacked. In countries that receive immigration, some otherwise low-status immigrant men and boys have asserted their dominant patriarchal status by inflicting honor killings on women family members who have participated in public life, for example in feminist and integration politics.[3] Women in the family can support the honor killing of one of their own, when they agree that the family is the property and asset of men and boys.

There is some evidence that homosexuality can also be perceived as grounds for honor killing by relatives. Several cases have been suspected but not confirmed. There is a documented case of a gay Jordanian man who was shot (but not fatally) by his brother.[4]

Many hold the practice of honor killing to be self-contradictory, since it is sometimes justified, by its participants or supporters, as an attempt to uphold the morals of a religion or a code, which at the same time generally forbids killing as morally wrong.

Honor suicides

Main article: Forced suicide
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File:Murdered woman.jpg
In 1995, Ibtihaz Hasoun married a man outside her Arab village in Israel. Her brother accused her of shaming her family, and stabbed her to death. He summoned villagers to watch him murder his "fallen sister." The villagers celebrated the honor killing.

Honor suicides occur when, in an effort to avoid legal penalties for killing, a woman is ordered or pressured into killing herself. This phenomenon appears to be a relatively recent development. A special envoy for the United Nations named Yakin Erturk, who was sent to Turkey to investigate suspicious suicides amongst Kurdish girls, was quoted by The New York Times as saying that some suicides appeared in Kurdish-inhabited regions of Turkey to be "honor killings disguised as a suicide or an accident."[5][6]

The historic practice of sati, or widow-burning, in parts of India and south Asia can be considered a form of honor suicide in those instances when (at least theoretically) the act is voluntary, with a deceased man's widow immolating herself on his funeral pyre as an act of pious devotion and to preserve her and her family's honor. The justifications for sati, as well as its actual prevalence and acceptance, are subject to much historical and religious debate, however.[7] Ever since the British ruled India, sati has been banned and is now considered murder.

Locations

As of 2004, honor killings have occurred at the hands of individuals within parts of various countries, such as Albania, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Germany, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel (within the Arab, Druze and Bedouin communities)[8], Italy, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, the Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Turkey, Uganda, the United Kingdom and the United States. According to the UN:

"The report of the Special Rapporteur ... concerning cultural practices in the family that are violent towards women (E/CN.4/2002/83), indicated that honour killings had been reported in Egypt, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, Yemen, and other Mediterranean and Gulf countries, and that they had also taken place in such countries as France, Germany and the United Kingdom, within migrant communities."[citation needed]

In December 2005, Nazir Afzal, Director, West London, of Britain's Crown Prosecution Service, stated that the United Kingdom has seen "at least a dozen honor killings" between 2004 and 2005. Given the geopolitical politics dominant today, the practice of honor killing is associated in the West with certain Muslim cultures and the peoples influenced by those cultures.[9] Honor killings are more common among poor rural communities than urban ones. Christians living within parts of Africa and the Near East, such as sections of Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority, sometimes carry out the crime, as well as some men from some Muslim communities. While violence and discrimination against women is unfortunately widespread across the globe, it is well established that social inequality is a participatory factor. There is a strong positive correlation between women's social power and a baseline of development, associated with access to basic resources, health care, and human capital, such as literacy. [10] In some locations, attacks or killings have been perpetrated against women by individuals who are not close relatives, often in the context of enforcement of religiously-sanctioned social requirements such as wearing hijab or engaging in more open interaction with unrelated males. One example is the current trend in the Iraqi city of Basra, where authorities report that around 15 female corpses are discovered monthly; the victims are believed to have been killed by groups who seek to enforce sanctioned behavior on women. [10]

Many cases of honor killings have been reported in Pakistan. During the year 2002 in Pakistan about four hundred people (men & women) were killed in the name of (Karo-Kari) in Sindh Out of 382 (245 women, 137 men). The phenomenon of the killing in the name of honor has direct relevance to the illiteracy rate, as these killings are more common in the areas where the literacy rate is lower. According to a report issued by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Jacobabad District ranked first in terms of murder in the name of Karo Kari (66 women, 25 men). Jacobabad district has a literacy rate of 23.66, the least literate district of Sindh after Tharparkar District, and Thatta District. After Jacobabad, the Ghotki District witnessed the highest number of murders in the name of Karo Kari (13 men, 54 women). After Ghotki, Larkana is the district with the next highest murder rate in the name of Karo Kari (24 men, 38 women). Larkana as well, has a low literacy rate of 34.95. This is lower than even Naushahro Feroze District, Dadu District, and Khairpur District, having 39.14, 35.56 and 35.50 percent literacy rates respectively. These districts of the upper Sindh have low literacy rates but high feudal influence in every walk of life. Jacobabad, Ghotki and Larkana are those districts of Sindh where not only the illiterate ones, but tribal chieftains are also in large number. According to a report released by the HRCP, the cases of Karo Kari are mostly settled at jirgas, the private and parallel judicial system of Chieftains. However, districts of lower parts of Sindh like Tharparkar, Badin, and Thatta experience nominal occurrences of honor killings because they have lower amount of feudal influence there.[11]

Honor killing as a cultural practice or religious practice

Sharif Kanaana, professor of anthropology at Birzeit University states that honor killing is:

A complicated issue that cuts deep into the history of Arab society. .. What the men of the family, clan, or tribe seek control of in a patrilineal society is reproductive power. Women for the tribe were considered a factory for making men. The honor killing is not a means to control sexual power or behavior. What's behind it is the issue of fertility, or reproductive power.[11]

An Amnesty International statement adds:

The regime of honour is unforgiving: women on whom suspicion has fallen are not given an opportunity to defend themselves, and family members have no socially acceptable alternative but to remove the stain on their honour by attacking the woman.[12]

In Muslim majority countries

According to the Qur'an, adultery is a punishable sin. [13]

The woman and the man guilty of adultery or fornication, and - flog each of them with a hundred stripes: Let not compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by Allah, if ye believe in Allah and the Last Day: and let a party of the Believers witness their punishment. [14]

There are some scholars who claim the act of honor killing is encouraged in Islam, [15] [16] honor killings are regurally carried out in the Muslim world, [17] [18] [19] and there are specific examples of Muhammad executing adulterers. For example, a married man confesses that he has adultery. Muhammad orders him planted in the ground and pelted with stones, he tries to escape but is dragged back. [20] A woman who became pregnant confesses to Muhammad that she is guilty of adultery. Muhammad allows her to have the child, and she is stoned after giving birth. [21]. A woman confesses adultery and is stoned to death on Muhammad's order. [22]

However, other Muslim scholars say that honor killings are a cultural practice which is neither exclusive to, nor universal within, the Islamic world. [citation needed] The practice is little known in Indonesia, the world's most populous Islamic country, as well as in parts of West Africa with majority-Muslim populations. [23] However the practice is strongly associated with the Arabic-Kurdish- and Urdu-speaking parts of the Muslim world. Furthermore, most cases involving the practice in non-Muslim areas involve people from Muslim-majority countries.[24][25]

Some modern Islamic religious authorities prohibit extra-legal punishments such as honor killings, since they consider the practice to be a cultural issue.[26] They believe that since certain pre-Islamic cultures have influence over a number of Muslims, murderers of females use Islam to justify honor killing, but claim there is no support for the act in the religion itself. The death penalty cannot always be applied in the Sharia as murders are a type of "qisas" ("retaliation") crime 2-178. This means that the deceased's family should be offered the choice of capital punishment or "diyya" ("blood money") and no execution can take place without them opting for death. Because a relative(s) is usually responsible for the honor killing, it is unlikely that the deceased's family will punish one of their own for the crime.[27]. However other punishments can be legislated and the murderer cannot pardon himself.[28]

The execution of the Saudi Arabian princess Misha'al is an example of a judicial honor killing, in which the execution did not follow any Islamic religious court proceeding, but was ordered directly by her grandfather.[citation needed]

According to the report of the Special Rapporteur submitted to the 58th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (2002) concerning cultural practices in the family that reflect violence against women (E/CN.4/2002/83):

The Special Rapporteur indicated that there had been contradictory decisions with regard to the honor defense in Brazil, and that legislative provisions allowing for partial or complete defense in that context could be found in the penal codes of Argentina, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Peru, Syria, Venezuela and the Palestinian National Authority.[29]

Though Israel is mentioned in the report, Israeli law does not allow for "family honor" as a defense in murder, partially or completely[30].

Countries where the law is interpreted to allow men to kill female relatives in a premeditated effort as well as for crimes of passions, in flagrante delicto in the act of committing adultery, include:

  • Jordan: Part of article 340 of the Penal Code states that "he who discovers his wife or one of his female relatives committing adultery and kills, wounds, or injures one of them, is exempted from any penalty." This has twice been put forward for cancellation by the government, but was retained by the Lower House of the Parliament.[31]

Countries that allow men to kill female relatives in flagrante delicto (but without premeditation) include:

  • Syria: Article 548 states that "He who catches his wife or one of his ascendants [sic], descendants or sister committing adultery (flagrante delicto) or illegitimate sexual acts with another and he killed or injured one or both of them benefits from an exemption of penalty."

Countries that allow husbands to kill only their wives in flagrante delicto (based upon the Napoleonic code) include:

  • Morocco: Article 418 of the Penal Code states "Murder, injury and beating are excusable if they are committed by a husband on his wife as well as the accomplice at the moment in which he surprises them in the act of adultery."
  • Haiti: Article 269 of the Penal Code states that "in the case of adultery as provided for in Article 284, the murder by a husband of his wife and/or her partner, immediately upon discovering them in flagrante delicto in the conjugal abode, is to be pardoned."
  • In two Latin American countries, similar laws were struck down over the past two decades: according to human rights lawyer Julie Mertus "in Brazil, until 1991 wife killings were considered to be noncriminal 'honor killings'; in just one year, nearly eight hundred husbands killed their wives. Similarly, in Colombia, until 1980, a husband legally could kill his wife for committing adultery."[32]

Countries where honor killing is not legal but is frequently in practice include:

  • Turkey: In Turkey, persons found guilty of this crime are sentenced to life in prison.[33]
  • Iraqi Kurdistan: In Kurdistan, women are killed nearly every day for 'dishonoring' their families. Honor killing was legal until 2002 in Iraq.
  • Pakistan: Honor killings are known as Karo Kari (Sindhi: ڪارو ڪاري) (Urdu: کاروکاری ). The practice is supposed to be prosecuted under ordinary murder, but in practice police and prosecutors often ignore it.[34] Often a man must simply claim the killing was for his honor and he will go free. Nilofar Bakhtiar, advisor to Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, stated that in 2003, as many as 1,261 women were murdered in honor killings.[35] On December 8, 2004, under international and domestic pressure, Pakistan enacted a law that made honor killings punishable by a prison term of seven years, or by the death penalty in the most extreme cases. Women's rights organizations were, however, wary of this law as it stops short of outlawing the practice of allowing killers to buy their freedom by paying compensation to the victim's relatives. Women's rights groups claimed that in most cases it is the victim's immediate relatives who are the killers, so inherently the new law is just eyewash. It did not alter the provisions whereby the accused could negotiate pardon with the victim's family under the so-called Islamic provisions. In March 2005 the Pakistani government allied with Islamists to reject a bill which sought to strengthen the law against the practice of "honor killing".[36] However, the bill was brought up again, and in November 2006, it passed.[37]. It is doubtful whether or not the law would actually help women.[38]

During the year 2002 about four hundred people (men & women) were killed in the name of (Karo-Kari) in Sindh Out of 382 (245 women, 137 men). The phenomenon of the killing in the name of honor has direct relevance to the illiteracy rate, as these killings are more common in the areas where the literacy rate is lower. According to a report issued by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Jacobabad District ranked first in terms of murder in the name of Karo Kari (66 women, 25 men). Jacobabad district has a literacy rate of 23.66, the least literate district of Sindh after Tharparkar District, and Thatta District. After Jacobabad, the Ghotki District witnessed the highest number of murders in the name of Karo Kari (13 men, 54 women).

After Ghotki, Larkana is the district with the next highest murder rate in the name of Karo Kari (24 men, 38 women). Larkana as well, has a low literacy rate of 34.95. This is lower than even Naushahro Feroze District, Dadu District, and Khairpur District, having 39.14, 35.56 and 35.50 percent literacy rates respectively. These districts of the upper Sindh have low literacy rates but high feudal influence in every walk of life.

Jacobabad, Ghotki and Larkana are those districts of Sindh where not only the illiterate ones, but tribal chieftains are also in large number. According to a report released by the HRCP, the cases of Karo Kari are mostly settled at jirgas, the private and parallel judicial system of Chieftains. However, districts of lower parts of Sindh like Tharparkar, Badin, and Thatta experience nominal occurrences of honor killings because they have lower amount of feudal influence there.[39]

See also

Further reading

References and notes

  1. ^ United Nations Population Fund: The State of World Population 2000, Accessed August 15, 2007
  2. ^ Human Rights Watch: Violence Against Women and "Honor" Crimes, April 6, 2001
  3. ^ http://www.fadimesminne.nu/. Accessed June 6, 2007.
  4. ^ The Globe and Mail: Gay Jordanian now 'gloriously free' in Canada, May 20, 2004
  5. ^ The New York Times: How to Avoid Honor Killing in Turkey? Honor Suicide, July 16, 2006
  6. ^ International Herald Tribune: 'Virgin suicides' save Turks' 'honor', July 12, 2006
  7. ^ Lata Mani: Contentious Traditions: The Debate on Sati in Colonial India. Berkeley & Los Angeles, 1998
  8. ^ Haaretz article, February 23, 2007,
  9. ^ Centre of Islamic and Middle Eastern Laws (London): Combating ‘crimes of honor’ through data, documentation, networking and development of strategies, November 15, 2006
  10. ^ Wilkinson, Richard G. 2005. The Impact of Inequality: How to Make Sick Societies Healthier. New York: The New Press.
  11. ^ Sindh Education Department
  12. ^ Amnesty International: Broken bodies, shattered minds - Torture and ill-treatment of women, Report, March 6, 2001
  13. ^ The Light [1], "USC-EDU"
  14. ^ "The Light". USC-MSA. Retrieved 2007-09-28.
  15. ^ Islam Online: [2], "How Islam Views Adultery"
  16. ^ Guidedones [3] "Should the Islamic punishment of Adultery be reconsidered?"
  17. ^ (ANSAmed) - ANKARA, SEPTEMBER 24: [4], "TURKEY: FEMALE HONOUR KILLINGS AND SUICIDE LINKED, REPORT"
  18. ^ 'Honour' killer jailed 5/ 9/2007: [5], "'Honour' killer jailed"
  19. ^ FOX News, Thursday, October 11, 2007: [6], "Austrian Man Shoots Colleague, Slices off Penis in 'Honor Killing'"
  20. ^ The Light [7], "USC-EDU"
  21. ^ The Light [8], "USC-EDU"
  22. ^ The Light [9] , "USC-EDU"
  23. ^ http://www.nuradeen.com/Reflections/ElementsOfSufism3.htm
  24. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3828675.stm
  25. ^ http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,1244406,00.html
  26. ^ IslamOnline.net: Honor Killing from an Islamic Perspective, June 17, 2002
  27. ^ Islam Online (Atiyyah Saqr): Reprisal in Islamic Legal System, March 30, 2005
  28. ^ Chapter 37. Judgements on Homicide and Hadd-Punishments
  29. ^ United Nations General Assembly: Template:PDFlink, July 2, 2002
  30. ^ Knesset report on honor killings, June 27th, 2001 (Hebrew)
  31. ^ Rana Husseini: Lower House again rejects cancelling Article 340 of Penal Code, Jordan Times, January 27, 2000
  32. ^ James D. Wilets: Conceptualizing private violence against sexual minorities as gendered violence: an international and comparative law perspective, 60 Albany Law Review 989, 1994
  33. ^ Dan Bilefsky: How to Avoid Honor Killing in Turkey? Honor Suicide, New York Times, July 16, 2006
  34. ^ Taipei Times: Pakistan's honor killings enjoy high-level support, July 24, 2004
  35. ^ Salman Masood: Pakistan Tries to Curb 'Honor Killings', New York Times, October 27, 2004
  36. ^ BBC News: Pakistan rejects pro-women bill, March 2, 2005
  37. ^ Asim Yasin: Pakistan's Senate Approve Women Protection Bill, Ohmy News, November 25, 2006
  38. ^ The Reality of ‘Women Protection Bill’
  39. ^ Sindh Education Department
  40. ^ Malcolm Knox: Historian challenges Palestinian bestseller, Sydney Morning Herald, April 13, 2005

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