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Honour Killings
Human Rights Watch defines "honour killings" as follows:
Honour killings are acts of vengeance, usually death, committed by male family
members against female family members, who are held to have brought
dishonour 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 divorceeven from an abusive husband
- or (allegedly) committing adultery.
The mere perception that a woman has behaved in a way that "dishonours" her
family is sufficient to trigger an attack on her life.
Although rarely, men can also be the victims of honour killings by members of
the family of a woman with whom they are perceived to have an inappropriate
relationship. The loose term "honour killing" applies to killing of both men and
women in cultures that practice it.
Some women who bridge social divides, publicly engage other communities, or
adopt some of the customs or the religion of an outside group may be attacked.
In countries that receive immigrants, some otherwise low-status immigrant men
and boys have asserted their dominant patriarchal status by inflicting honor
killings on female family members who have participated in public life, for
example, in feminist and integration politics.
General characteristics
The distinctive nature of honor killings is the collective nature of the crime many members of an extended family plan the act together, sometimes through
a formal "family council". Another significant feature is the connection of honour
killings to the control of womens behaviour, in particular in regard to
sexuality/male interaction/marriage, by the family as a collective. Another key
aspect is the importance of the reputation of the family in the community, and
the stigma associated with losing social status, particularly in tight-knit
communities. Another characteristic of honor killings is that the perpetrators
often don't face negative stigma within their communities, because their
behaviour is seen as justified.
Extent
The incidence of honour killings is very difficult to determine and estimates vary
widely. In most countries data on honour killings is not collected systematically,
and many of these killings are reported by the families
as suicides or accidents and registered as such. Although honour killings are
often associated with the Asian continent, especially the Middle
East and South Asia, they occur all over the world. In 2000, the United
Nations estimated that 5,000 women were victims of honor killings each year.
According to BBC, "Women's advocacy groups, however, suspect that more than
20,000 women are killed worldwide each year." Murder is not the only form of
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honour crime, other crimes such as acid attacks, abduction, mutilations, beatings
occur; in 2010 the UK police recorded at least 2,823 such crimes.
Methods
Methods of killing include stoning, stabbing, beating, burning, beheading,
hanging, throat slashing, lethal acid attacks, shooting and strangulation. The
murders are sometimes performed in public to warn the other women within the
community of possible consequences of engaging in what is seen as illicit
behaviour.
Use of minors as perpetrators
Often, minor girls and boys are selected by the family to act as the killers, so that
the killer may benefit of the most favourable legal outcome. Boys and sometimes
women in the family are often asked to closely control and monitor the behaviour
of their sisters or other females in the family (there are also few cases of men or
boys being killed in the name of 'honour', to ensure that the females do not do
anything to tarnish the 'honour' 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".
Forced suicide as a substitute
A forced suicide may be a substitute for an honor killing. In this case, the family
members do not directly kill the victim themselves, but force him or her to
commit suicide, in order to avoid punishment. Such suicides are reported to be
common in South Eastern Turkey, Iraq and Iran. It was reported that in 2001, 565
women lost their lives in honor-related crimes in Islam, Iran, of which 375 were
reportedly staged as self-immolation. In 2008, self-immolation, "occurred in all
the areas of Kurdish settlement (in Iran), where it was more common than in
other parts of Iran". It is claimed that in Iraqi Kurdistan, many deaths are
reported as "female suicides" in order to conceal honor-related crimes.
Restoring honor through a forced marriage
In the case of an unmarried girl associating herself with a man, losing virginity,
or being raped, the family may attempt to restore its 'honour' with a 'shotgun
wedding'. The groom will usually be the man who has 'dishonoured' the girl, but
if this is not possible the family may try to arrange a marriage with another man,
often a man who is part of the extended family of the one who has committed
the acts with the girl. This being an alternative to an honor killing, the girl has no
choice but to accept the marriage. The family of the man is expected to
cooperate and provide a groom for the girl.
Nujood Ali
Nujood Ali (born 1998) is a central figure in Yemen's movement against forced
marriage and child marriage. At the age of ten, she obtained a divorce, breaking
with the tribal tradition. In November 2008, U.S. women's magazine Glamour
designated Nujood Ali and her lawyer Shada Nasser as Women of the Year. Ali's
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divorce a middle-aged man in 2009, after her father had forced her to marry him
the year before in exchange for about $13,000.
In 2013 Ali reported to the media that her father had forced her out of their
home, and has withheld most of the money paid by the publishers. Her father
has also arranged a marriage for her younger sister, Haifa. He used the money
earmarked for Ali's education to buy two new wives for himself, and, according to
haaretz.com, sold Haifa into marriage with a much older man. Ali's ex-husband
only pays her $30 a month alimony.
As of June 2015, Ali, now sixteen, has unofficially changed her name from
Nujood, which means "hidden," to Nojoom, which means "stars in the sky."