THW prosecute communities for complicity in honour killings

DEFINITIONS Honour killing = homicide of a member of a family or social group by other members due to the belief of the perpetrators that the !ictim has brought dishonor upon the family or community" Honor killings are directed mostly against #omen and girls"

$ommunity prosecution initiati!es deploy prosecutors or in some %urisdictions nonlegal staff in the community to identify the public safety concerns of residents and to seek their participation in de!eloping and implementing strategies to address the problems that are the community&s highest priorities" $ommunity prosecution represents a distinct departure from the case and con!iction orientation of traditional prosecution" S'( ) aug *+,* -. ( Shafilea /hmed 0 killed by her parents after she defied plans to marry her to an older man in 1akistan 2ODE3( 4esides prosecuting the murderers and con!icting them as considered appropriate there shall be prosecutors sent in the specific areas #here communities that engage in honour killing li!e" They #ill con!ict the indi!iduals #ho are in any #ay complicit in the crimes 5 the ones #ho perpetuate and preach for these murders0 especially community leaders 6 supporters7 and also implement strategies to combat honour killings" $D( 1. Perpetuating a murderous mentality One can ha!e the right to li!e the life they #ish unless it harms others in order for them to ha!e a decent standard of li!ing" The #omen and sometimes men that are !ictims of honour killing do not get to choose and ha!e their basic human rights and liberties infringed from the right to bodily autonomy to freedom of speech and e8pression to the right to li!e" 9hy community: a. Inside a segregated community the social norms dictated by the ma%ority become la#s denying the e8terior la#s and empathi;ing #ith preachers that condone and support the social norm" The concept of killing in the name of honour is fla#ed and illegitimate but the image that they ha!e in the specific community becomes more important for se!eral muslim families than the life of their children" 5eg Samaira Na;ir a *<0year0old graduate and recruitment consultant died after she tried to escape her family home follo#ing a ro# #ith her family o!er her plans to marry an /fghan asylum seeker" Her brother /;har Na;ir )+ dragged her back into the house #here he and his distant cousin Imran 2ohammed ,= #orked together to hold her and stab her to death" Her throat #as cut and she #as stabbed ,> times in the attack #hich took place in /pril *++<" The killers #ere gi!en life sentences in *++?" /#ais /kram #as left se!erely disfigured after being attacked because of a liaison #ith a married business#oman #hom he had met on Facebook" The *<0year0old #as beaten and stabbed before concentrated sulphuric acid #as poured o!er his head lea!ing him #ith @=A

burns in Buly *++C" The #omanDs brother 2ohammed Eakas *? #as %ailed for )+ years in 2ay *+,+ for conspiracy to murder7 b" The children #ho are born in these communities are forced to li!e a life through these traditions" There is no true choice in their life" They may choose to li!e the community and be denied their identity and family 5though in some e8amples this didn&t turn out !ery #ell (D7 or choose to li!e a submissi!e life" c" The herd effect aka the #ay people react to #hat they consider bad" The reaction is to #orship and respect the people that protect the community" FThe perpetrators #ill be e!en considered as a hero #ithin the community because he is the one defending the family and communityDs honour and reputation"G 1HO43E2( the e8plicit denial of human rights and a basic life due to a background of murders that are considered honourable" Thus in order to stop the perpetuation of such actions inter!ention from the outside is necessary in order to enforce a basic li!ing standard for the ma%ority of population and to change the community on the long term" $ommunity prosecution in!ol!es trying to make people #ork #ith the prosecutors for the sake of security thus in!ol!ing them directly in the fight against honour killings #ill make the efforts #orth#hile" 2. Implementing law In the -S/ from ,C>< till today there ha!e been many cases of community prosecutions that targeted se!eral neighbourhoods in order to take care of problems such as drug !iolence %u!eniles !iolent crime etc" The reason for community prosecution #as to enforce the rule of la# in neighbourhoods #here the crime rate is high" In the -. police recorded at least 2, 2! so"called honour attacks last year. #lso, from *++C to *+,+ there #as an o!erall @=A rise in such incidents" 3a# #as made for the #ell being of the state as a #hole but the segregated communities that engage in illegal actions affect not only the stats and numbers that makes up the image of a state 5crime rate7 but by affecting ,st of all the area surrounding the community and also making the #hole society less safe" 1lus la#s that are denied in a community 5like I Jou shall not mutilate anyoneG7 lose legitimacy as a #hole" /lso the fact that in the -. honour killings still e8ist 5from the C+s7 sho#s that the go!ernment reaction #as not enough 5meaning con!icting only the ones #ho acti!ely did the murder7" Thus the Kuestion is ( ho# should #e implement la# in this situation and in others as such: 2aking the #hole community responsible for #hat they condone" #t international le$el FHonor crimesF are a recogni;ed form of !iolence against #omen in international human rights la# because they !iolate #omenDs rights to life and security of the personL freedom from torture and cruel inhuman and degrading treatmentL and the right to eKuality before the la# and eKual protection of the la#" International la# obligates states to protect #omen from gender0based !iolence including by family members and to disKualify FhonorF as a legal defense for acts of !iolence against #omen" The -nited Nations has echoed these obligations and condemned

statesD use of custom tradition or religion to a!oid obligations to eliminate !iolence against #omen"=M thus it #ould set a precedent for other communities and states to follo# making the fight for %ustice take another step to#ards !ictory" !. %omplicity at another le$el If you kno# a crime is going to happen and there is a #ay to pre!ent it #ould you: The fact that the go!ernment does not inter!ene in a more e8treme #ay e!en though it has the kno#ledge that some social factors 5po!erty etc7 mould actions in a community that deliberately harms and kills other citi;ens makes it complicit to that action" Thus #e can conclude that the go!ernment ackno#ledges the lack of po#er and thus makes it less legitimate in the eyes of the other citi;ens" 2oreo!er the go!ernment acti!ely differentiates bet#een citi;ens( some are forced to respect the la# #hile others in those communities apply their o#n la# but are only punished" /lso the go! takes measures to protect the ma% of citi;ens against crimes and so on but #hen it comes to a clear community the enforcement of la# is lacking" No!ernments that do not protect their people are usually oppressi!e or failed and bet#een complicity in murders and the rest is a thin line"

OOOas a side note apparently honour killings don&t HE/33J ha!e a religious background" FHonor crimesF are sometimes assumed to be sanctioned by Islam since they mainly occur in the 2iddle East" 4ut #hile perpetrators of Fhonor crimesF often cite religious %ustification for their acts these crimes are not rooted in any religious te8t" FHonor crimesF originated in customary la# that pre0dates Islam and $hristianity" They span communities religions and countries including /rgentina 4angladesh 4ra;il Ecuador Egypt Nuatemala India Iran Bordan 3ebanon 1akistan 1alestine 1eru Syria Turkey and Eene;uela"OOO