I have focused my attention on ‘honor’ killings in Pakistani societies, because that is where I found the most documented cases to have occurred. (Lexington, 2003: 69) This in no way means that ‘honor’ killings only occur in Pakistan or within the Muslim world. Similar forms of violence, namely towards women, occurred and evolved in ancient Babylon, South and Meso-America, and in the Roman Empire. These types of violence involved the ideas that a woman’s virginity or fidelity belonged to her family, and when that was violated, they had the right to kill her. Today, ‘honor’ killings still occur in countries such as Brazil, Albania, Iraq, India, Uganda, and Morocco, as well as within immigrant communities in other countries, even though they have been explicitly outlawed in all of these places. (Gadit & Patel, 2008: 684)
One of the most famous cases of ‘honor’ killings in Sweden was the murder of a young woman named Fadime by her father. She very openly refused to marry the man who had been selected for her, and brought charges of threatening behavior against her father and brother in the Swedish courts. These actions brought a great deal of public shame and humiliation to her family, which she acknowledged during the trials in 1998. She was later killed by her father. It is important to note however, that Fadime’s parents were Roman Catholics, not Muslims. This put the situation into a different light in the Swedish public debate as Islam had been very much associated with ‘honor’ killings in people’s mindsets. (Hellgren & Hobson, 2008: 392)
In yet another Swedish case, a young man with an immigrant background was killed by the family of the young woman he had wanted to marry, but whose marriage had already been arranged. This terrible situation challenged the notions of that ‘honor’ related violence means, as it is generally thought of as a form of violence against women, which is not always the case. It is often forgotten, in my mind for one, that gender equality includes the rights of both men and women. It is not always a one-sided issue. Human rights should embrace all. (Hellgren & and Hobson, 2008: 396)
Men, inhabiting the dominant role in most societies, maintain power through such acts as ‘honor’ killings in certain societies, it is also important to look at the ways in which women can take on roles to perpetuate violence, whether symbolic or not, and structural inequalities. While not actually carrying out the acts of violence, women in societies or families where ‘honor’ killings occur often work to perpetuate and reinforce certain practices and codes of behaviors. (Hellgren & Hobson, 2008: 390)
Gadit, Amin Muhammad, and Sujay Patel
Transcultural Psychiatry
2008 Karo-Kari: A Form of Honour Killing in Pakistan. Electronic Document, http://tps.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/45/4/683, accessed February 22.
Hellgren, Zenia, and Barbara Hobson
2008 Cultural Dialogues in the Good Society: The case of honour killings in Sweden. Ethnicities 8(3): 385-400. http://etn.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/8/3/385
Lexington
2003 Pakistan: Honour Killings of Women Constantly Increasing. Women’s International Network, Electronic Document, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=592582411&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientld=42576&RQT=309&VName=PQD, accessed February 22, 2009.
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