Emily Fricke WGS 201 Transnational Project

Figure 1http://www.instablogs.com/honor-killings-in-the-east.html
Honor? More like Dishonor










We give them enough money to get away and cut ties, like disowning them. That was
the response I got when I asked a friend of mine what would happen to a female in their family
if they did something to dishonor his family now that they live in America. The name of the
friend who is originally from Turkey, will not be mentioned for their privacy, but I will tell you
how the conversation went. They said how their family handles the situation is extremely kind
compared to what the women are used to and this is a matter that their family and all others of
the same region take seriously. As it turns out my friend wasnt lying. In the Islamic culture
women are not sent away and cut off they are brutally murdered. This information really
sparked my interest in the topic and as I began to research I found out that honor killings are
acts that can happen to both men and women but more commonly to women.
Merriam-Webster defines Honor Killing as follows; The traditional practice in some
countries of killing a family member who is believed to have brought shame on the family.
(Exact text from the Merriam-Webster site) What I am determined to find out is who and why
Emily Fricke WGS 201 Transnational Project
on earth someone decided to make this idea an actual thing. In addition I am trying to discover
why this is an ongoing issue, how this issue can be resolved and if there is action being taken to
put it to an end.
Ever seen Gods Not Dead? If you havent I strongly suggest it. Throughout the movie
you are introduced to several people who are Christians but the one character that plays a role
in this project is a college age Muslim girl named Ayisha. Ayisha hides her faith in God from her
family because they are Muslim. In front of her father she wears her full dress and her face
remains covered but once out of his view she removes the coverings and is who she really
knows herself to be. Her younger brother ends up coming across her iPod which contains a
Christian themed playlist. She begs her brother to stay quiet and not to tell her father of what
he has found. Her brother does not listen to her and goes against her wishes and tells their
father. The father bursts into Ayishas room and grabs her headphones and discovers the music
for himself. Because this is against his and the cultures beliefs he ends up physically abusing her
and forces her out of the house. While this is not murder this is the same concept. Ayisha chose
a religion outside of the Muslim desire so she was beaten and disowned. This is an incredibly
painful scene to watch but it really allows you to understand what some people go through
when trying to be who they want. I felt it was necessary to include this because it really is a
brilliant representation of actions that actually happen.
Dressing in ways that are not approved of, taking part in an unapproved of relationship,
refusing arranged marriages, premarital sex, religious preference, being the victim of rape,
being someone who seeks a divorce and taking part in same-sex relationships are all considered
to be various types of immoral behavior and are the most common reasons for honor killings in
Emily Fricke WGS 201 Transnational Project
the Islamic culture. While all of these reasons are disturbing to me but the most revolting of
these to me is being a victim of rape. As if being the victim of such a traumatic event isnt
horrible enough, I have come to learn that there is a culture that deems it appropriate to
murder the victim. It must be obvious to you why I am interested in finding out how to stop
this.
Honor killings are known to have taken place in Great Britain, India, Brazil, Ecuador,
Israel, Italy, Sweden, and Uganda and more commonly in Muslim nations including Turkey,
Jordan and Morocco. In addition to these places the harsh fact is that honor killings are taking
place everywhere even here in the United States. Not all places use murder as the punishment
for any of these dishonoring actions, some places use consequences that are far less severe
but still treat any of these dishonoring acts as so. All of these places have different means of
dealing with honor killings and the first positive to my research would be that I came across the
fact that there are some countries that have consequences for those who commit honor
killings. Unfortunately most countries feel that murder by family is legitimate, there are places
that serve punishments for those who murder people within the family for whatever reason.
Through my research I got discouraged several times because I kept coming across statements
that try to defend honor killings by saying if things change it would encourage adultery and
create social problems. This information is the first initiative I found of there being action taken
to end honor killings. In addition to this I found that there have been legal, preventive, and
protective measures being taken since around 2013. These actions include making domestic
violence of any kind a criminal offense, making the selling of females a criminal offense, giving
women justice after suffering a violence offense, taking to the media to get the message across
Emily Fricke WGS 201 Transnational Project
and create public service announcements, and making sure that those groups working for a
change can and will remain safe and without fear. Hopefully with this action being taken this
will no longer continue to be something that people just turn the other cheek on.
When I began the journey on learning more on Honor Killings I was completely
unprepared for the harsh reality of the topic. I went in thinking that there has to be some type
of promising effort being pursued that is making it an achievable goal of making honor killings
something of the past. The reality is that there are women all over the world, but more
commonly, Islamic women who are acting in ways that have been deemed dishonoring and
they are literally dying for them. There is no I hope you learned your lesson and will do better
next time. Thankfully there are people like my friend and their family who have chosen a path
that is still painful but allows the person to live. I am hopeful that the acts of people like these
are contagious and that change is possible. I like to hope that even an informative project such
as this inspires people to help in standing up and taking action to put an end to such tragic
events. We are people who believe in second chances, even
repeated second chances. Now the goal is to make that
attitude one that catches on. There has to be a better way. A
dishonoring or more like disagreeable trait can be
overlooked beyond murder. There is nothing more
dishonoring than murdering someone in order to please
others.

Emily Fricke WGS 201 Transnational Project

Works Cited

"Frequently Asked Questions About 'Honour Killing' | Violence is not our Culture." Frequently
Asked Questions About 'Honour Killing' | Violence is not our Culture. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct.
2014. <http://www.violenceisnotourculture.org/faq_honour>.

"Government of Pakistan: request of immediate action to be taken against "honour" killings."
Change.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://www.change.org/p/government-of-pakistan-
request-of-immediate-action-to-be-taken-against-honour-killings>.

"Honor killing." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor_killing>.

"honor killing." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/honor%20killing>.

"JORDAN: Honour killings still tolerated." IRINnews. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.irinnews.org/report/70634/jordan-honour-killings-still-tolerated>.
Emily Fricke WGS 201 Transnational Project
Stewart, Sara. "The Daily Beast." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, n.d. Web. 24 Oct.
2014. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/20/the-dishonor-of-honor-
killings.html>.

"Palestinian women seek tougher laws to combat honor killings - Middle East." Haaretz.com.
N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014. <http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.576737>.

"Articles: No More Honor-Killings of Women in the Middle East." Articles: No More Honor-
Killings of Women in the Middle East. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/11/_no_more_honor-
killings_of_women_in_the_middle_east.html>.