An "honor killing", also called a shame killing, refers to murder that is committed by members of the victim's family or intimate partner with the motivation of preserving or recovering the "honor" that the victim is perceived as having violated or lost as a result of their actions, which may be a source of shame in their society. Most cases of honor killings happen in the form of femicide, and are likewise a frequent manifestation of violence against women in regions of the world where there are traditional or legal norms that greatly restrict women's rights and freedoms.
Moral standards in a community tend to be based on different codes of behavior for men and women, particularly with regard to women's sexual freedom. In many families, the "family honor" motive is used by men as a pretext to enforce the restriction of women's rights, and honor killings are performed in communities with the intent to punish violations of social, sexual, religious, or general familial norms or hierarchies. Communities in which honor killings occur impose social rejection and social exclusion on dishonored families, with the only way to save face being to kill whoever brought the dishonor upon the family.
While the behaviors and actions that lead to honor killings can vary by the established societal norms of a region, they are most often choices of an intimate nature, such as refusing to enter into an arranged or forced marriage; seeking a divorce or marital separation; or engaging in premarital or extramarital sex. However, several non-intimate personal choices may also result in honor killings as well, such as converting to another religion; associating with others outside of one's caste; or dressing in a way that is regarded as diverging from sexual norm (e.g., a man wearing women's clothing) in the community. Furthermore, it is also common for people to be targeted for honor killings if they become victims of rape or sexual assault; or for having a taboo characteristic such as not identifying as heterosexual or for having a disability.
These killings are condemned by international conventions, including by legally binding documents like the Istanbul Convention, and by human rights organizations worldwide. Even so, they remain widespread and some religious and cultural communities continue to justify and encourage them wherever these communities hold influence. Each year, approximately 5,000 people are reported as having been murdered in the name of honour. Honor killings are primarily associated with the Middle East and North Africa and South Asia, but they also occur in other regions, such as the Philippines, East Africa, Chechnya, Latin America, and historically in Mediterranean Europe. Because of this, they also appear among the diaspora communities of these groups, even in countries whose broader social norms do not condone the practice. Though honor killings are often linked to rural and tribal areas, they occur in urban areas, too.
Characteristics 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 perceived to have brought dishonor upon the family. A woman can be targeted by 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 committing adultery. The mere perception that a woman has acted in a manner to bring "dishonor" to the family is sufficient to trigger an attack.
Men can also be the victims of honor killings, either committed by family members of a woman with whom they are perceived to have an inappropriate relationship; or by members of their own families, the latter often connected to homosexuality or disability diagnosis.Afghan couple stoned to death – Central & South Asia . Al Jazeera English (16 August 2010). Retrieved 1 October 2011.
Many honor killings are planned by multiple members of a family, sometimes through a formal "family council". The threat of murder is used as a means to control behavior, especially concerning sexuality and marriage, which may be seen as a duty for some or all family members to uphold. Family members may feel compelled to act to preserve the local reputation of the family and avoid stigma or shunning, particularly in tight-knit communities. Perpetrators often do not face negative stigma within their communities, because their behavior is seen as justified. In a 2010 study of the Arab world, Abu-Odeh argues that reported cases show poor women to be more frequently the victims of honor killings, while upper-class women, whose social environment affords them greater mobility, face considerably less risk.
According to Israeli Arab Ibrahim Adas, who murdered his sister, "your honor often depends on what the women in your family do...In Arab society, there is no such thing as a woman being with a man without him first coming to the family and asking for her hand in marriage. If something like that happens to a family, they lose their honor in the eyes of the entire village. The only way out is to earn their honor back."
Methods of murdering include stoning, stabbing, beating, burning, beheading, hanging, throat slashing, lethal acid attacks, shooting, and strangulation. Sometimes, communities perform murders in public to warn others in the community of the possible consequences of engaging in what is seen as illicit behavior.
Often, minor girls and boys are selected by the family to act as the murderers, so that the murderer may benefit from the most favorable legal outcome. Boys and sometimes women in the family are often asked to closely control and monitor the behavior of their siblings or other members of the family, to ensure that they do not do anything to tarnish the 'honor' and 'reputation' of the family. The boys are often asked to carry out the murder, and if they refuse, they may face serious repercussions from the family and community for failing to perform their "duty".
Comparison to other forms of murder Honor killings, along with dowry killings (most of which are committed in South Asia), gang-related murderings of women as revenge (killings of female members of rival gang members' families—most of which are committed in Latin America) and witchcraft accusation killings (most of which are committed in Africa and Oceania) are some of the most recognized forms of femicide.
Human rights advocates have compared "honor killings" to "crimes of passion" in Latin America (which are sometimes treated extremely leniently) and the murdering of women for lack of dowry in India. Pdf via unl.edu
Some commentators have stressed the point that the focus on honor killings should not lead people to ignore other forms of gender-based murdering of women, in particular, those which occur in Latin America (femicides such as "crimes of passion" and gang-related killings); the murder rate of women in this region is extremely high, with El Salvador being reported as the country with the highest rate of murders of women in the world. In 2002, Widney Brown, advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, stated that "crimes of passion have a similar dynamic in that the women are murdered by male family members and the crimes are perceived as excusable or understandable".
Causes There are multiple causes for which honor killings occur, and numerous factors interact with each other.
Culture
The cultural features that lead to honor killings are complex. Honor killings involve violence and fear as tools for maintaining control. Honor killings are argued to have their origins among nomadic peoples and herdsmen: such populations carry all their valuables with them and risk having them stolen, and they do not have proper recourse to law. As a result, inspiring fear, using aggression, and cultivating a reputation for violent revenge to protect property is preferable to other behaviors. In societies where there is a weak rule of law, people must build fierce reputations.
In many cultures where honor is of a central value, men are sources, or active generators/agents, of that honor, while the only effect that women can have on honor is to destroy it. Once the family's or clan's honor is considered to have been destroyed by a woman, there is a need for immediate revenge to restore it, for the family to avoid losing face in the community. An Amnesty International statement notes:
The relation between social views on female sexuality and honor killings are complex. The way through which women in honor-based societies are considered to bring dishonor to men is often through their sexual behavior. Indeed, violence related to female sexual expression has been documented since Ancient Rome, when the pater familias had the right to murder an unmarried sexually active daughter or an adulterous wife.
Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, an anthropology professor at Rhode Island College, writes that an act, or even alleged act, of any female sexual misconduct, upsets the moral order of the culture, and bloodshed is the only way to remove any shame brought by the actions and restore social equilibrium. However, the relation between honor and female sexuality is a complicated one, and some authors argue that it is not women's sexuality per se that is the 'problem', but rather women's self-determination in regard to it, as well as fertility. Sharif Kanaana, professor of anthropology at Birzeit University, says that honor killing is:
In some cultures, honor killings are considered less serious than other murders simply because they arise from long-standing cultural traditions and are thus deemed appropriate or justifiable. Additionally, according to a poll done by the BBC's Asian network, 1 in 10 of the 500 young South Asians surveyed said they would condone any murder of someone who threatened their family's honor.
Nighat Taufeeq of the women's resource center Shirkatgah in Lahore, Pakistan says: "It is an unholy alliance that works against women: the killers take pride in what they have done, the tribal leaders condone the act and protect the killers and the police connive the cover-up."Culture of Discrimination: A Fact Sheet on "Honor" Killings . Amnesty International. Retrieved 1 October 2011. The lawyer and human rights activist Hina Jilani says, "The right to life of women in Pakistan is conditional on their obeying social norms and traditions."
A July 2008 Turkish study by a team from Dicle University on honor killings in the Southeastern Anatolia Region, the predominantly Kurdish area of Turkey, has so far shown that little if any social stigma is attached to honor killing. It also comments that the practice is not related to a feudal societal structure, "there are also perpetrators who are well-educated university graduates. Of all those surveyed, 60 percent are either high school or university graduates or at the very least, literate."
In contemporary times, the changing cultural and economic status of women has also been used to explain the occurrences of honor killings. Women in largely patriarchal cultures who have gained economic independence from their families go against their male-dominated culture. Some researchers argue that the shift towards greater responsibility for women and less for their fathers may cause their male family members to act in oppressive and sometimes violent manners to regain authority.
Fareena Alam, former editor of the British Muslim magazine Q-News, writes that honor killings that arise in Western cultures such as Britain are a tactic for immigrant families to cope with the alienating consequences of urbanization. Alam argues that immigrants remain close to the home culture and their relatives because it provides a safety net. She writes that
Alam argues that it is thus the attempt to regain control and the feelings of alienation that ultimately leads to an honor killing.