1

Family Honour and Forces of change in Arab Society

“Middle East Region”

Ms. Siddhi Baranwal

BA.- LL.B(H) 3rd Year

Institute of Legal Studies and Research

GLA UNIVERSITY, Mathura (U.P)

siddhi.baranwal_ba.llb21@gla.ac.in

ABSTRACT
The violent crime known as "honour killing" is carried out by one or more additional
criminals with the intention of restoring honour to their own family. This study aims to
examine the demography of honour killing in the Middle East area, as well as the socio-
cultural elements that contribute to this practice. Among these include ingrained patriarchal
domination and the need to preserve one's social standing and lack of illiteracy, the
perpetrators of honour killings also have similar characteristics such as valuing singleness
more and committing violence again.

This chapter also drew attention towards the victim of Honour Killing, in addition to
highlighting various reports which shows the deterioting conditions of women. How Silence
culture dominated to the communities and also the offences which are not recorded under this
area.

Keywords; Middle East Region, Honor Killing, Patriarchal, Violence.

1
Family Honour and Forces of change in Arab Society “Middle East Region”

Introduction
Honour Based violence can be defined as any form of violence that is used to safeguard
family or community honour. Most of the crime victims are Women. Boys and Men can also
be the victim but however, this is rare. Illiteracy, Unemployment, Economic decline, poor
support and lack of knowledge of the law are factors that increase the risk of victimization.
Additionally Patriarchal groups recognize that men are the head of the family and are
responsible for combating all negative attitudes that cause serious psychological harm to
women in these communities, and in many other regions patriarchal system go far as
considering a women as a Men’s property.

Behaviours that would punish a woman for being conceiving or giving birth without being
married, being abused or sexually abused or refusing to marry a person chosen by their
guardian. Additionally, if a woman wants to get a divorce due to abuse or other reasons, if
she wants to marry someone of her own choice or even if she want to go to college or
University against the opinion of her Superior, then she will be in trouble. This include the
ease of talking to men in all situations, even if it is sometimes inappropriate. The most
extreme type of Honour- Based Violence is Honour base homicide. Other forms are physical
attack, maltreatment at home, sexual assault or harassment, forced abortion, compelled
marriage to the perpetrator, and poisoning and murder threats. The definition of honour
killing is a violent crime committed by one or more offenders against a woman, usually a
male relative is accused of misbehaving or doing anything that degraded the family’s
reputation which the crime is meant to rectify and restore honour.

According to 2012 data of the World Health Organization (WHO), it is estimated that
approximately 5,000 murder occur every year world wide in the name of honour killing.
According to research the many methods of honour The following are examples of killings:
burning, stabbing, acid burning, pebble throwing, being buried alive, and pushing a woman
into to attempt suicide or take poison. Sometimes weapons are used such as axes, firearms
and edged tools.

Countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council

Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has not published many studies on Honour Killing however that Saudi Arabia
has a much higher rate of Domestic Violence roughly 58% than the global average which is
between 10 and 52%. It should ne noted that this rate only includes Saudi Arabia’s major
cities because rural areas were not included in the relevant study. Though stories are rarely
published in Reputable news channels more stories about honour killing are gradually
becoming public to Social Media. These platforms are seen as untrustworthy, contributing to
the so- called gray literature (ie, posts on social media, newspaper stories etc)
2

Saudi Arabia and other nations that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council have similar
sociocultural elements. As a result, a large number of cases are also not reported, making
epidemiological estimates impossible.

Other Countries in the East Mediterranean Region

Pakistan
It is believed that in Pakistan has the greatest concentration of Honour Killing. The Pakistan
ministry of interior has reported to the court 4101 cases of Honour crimes between 1998 to
2003. In According to data from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, the number of
honour killings has been steadily increasing; in 2013, 869 incidents were reported; in 2014,
1000 cases were estimated; and in 2015, 1100 cases were reported. In addition, a 2009
research carried out in Pakistan made an attempt to quantify honour killing, estimating that,
in the four years of the study, accusations of extramarital affairs resulted to the deaths of
1957 women. 18% of the women were married, while eighteen percent of the ladies who died
were younger than eighteen.

Three adolescent girls were allegedly sexually abused by the governing troops at a Mistrata
Public School throughout the Libyan Civil War, according to activists for the US-based group
Doctors for Human Rights. After they betrayed the family's honour, their father later
murdered them..

The Afghanistan Federal Human Rights Commission states that 243 incidences of honour
killing were documented in Afghanistan between March 2011 and April 2013. Only 56% of
the perpetrators in those cases were recognised; of those, 39 % were spouses, 15%were
brothers, 9 % were dads, 6 % were brothers-in-law, 5% were other family members, and 26%
were other relatives.

Social and Cultural aspects Contributing to Honour Killing

The seemingly benign tale "You are the ruler of the house" is frequently repeated to young
boys, it has been observed throughout the years, mostly to assist them feel more from a young
age. To absolve one's parents of the duty of rearing the female members of the home who are
regularly the same age as the boys or even older, it was and still is technique of raising boys
to conform to the masculine roles that their parents, primarily the father have instilled in
them. This same story is what gave rise to the gender striation that exists today, where men
are seen as the “guardians” of women and their honour, even though this whole thing started
off as a fun way to honour guys' manhood. Over time, it transformed into a true power
struggle inside society, one in which women everywhere still have to deal with today.

Boys were gradually led by this story to believe that the "reputations" of the women in their
home were their responsibility and that they had to protect them at all costs. Those women

2
were a reflection of those men's masculinity and "ability to tame," not their own unique
selves. This gave rise to the adage, "If you are unable to maintain your females in range, you
are not an acceptable masculine male," as well as the idea of "fragile masculinity," which
describes the state in which a man's sense of manhood is undermined when he feels
threatened by the smallest loss of authority over female family members, even if that male is
actually the female's male sibling cousin rather than her legal guardian..

After gaining an overview of masculinity as a social construct and its distorted and fragile
foundation in modern society, the following section will demonstrate how this fragile
masculinity developed into an extremely patriarchal culture where a man's worth is primarily
based on how much control he has over the feminine members of his family..

Demonstration of the Patriarchal Society

For many years, the patriarchal society has propagated among men the idea that a woman's
sexual virginity is a sign of her honour, and that a man's dignity is only an extension of his
female relatives'. A woman's male relative or cousin will be her guardian until she forges a
new relationship with a man who upholds honour in a family-approved marriage, after which
she will face consequences. A woman may suffer serious consequences, such as probation,
loss of social engagement, education, or even worse results like a divorce, if her chastity is
broken in any manner before getting married, even by everything as little as a gossip. From
an impartial stance, one may argue that in certain It is a legitimate duty of the family,
regardless of culture or religion, to keep their daughters from having sex before marriage.
That begs the issue, though, of what would have happened if the lady had been raped before
being married. Unfortunately, because a woman in these circumstances is still viewed as a
shame to the family, a patriarchal culture does not consider women and their misfortunes in
its views and actions.

Family members who are reluctant to carry out the act of honour killing are subject to strong
peer pressure from their neighbours, relatives, and other community members, and they are
forbidden from feeling even the slightest sympathy towards their female family members
whom have been sexually assaulted or mistreated. As an alternative, they are instructed to
punish them, view them as despicable, and reject them in an effort to finally maintain or
restore the family's status in society.

These tragedies are related to the structural defect in society that compels a large proportion
of males to view women in a patriarchy environment from a young age, therefore reinforcing
the validity of killings of honour as they become older. As an example, consider the two
sisters Aisha and Gamila, who were raised in Yemen. The two girls were raised with
patriarchal beliefs by their father. Fearing they might grow too sexual, their biological father
had them through female genital mutilation, often known as female circumcision. As the girls
became older and more responsible, their father's concerns about their chastity rose until he
banned them from going to school and secluded them. Following that, their father considered
It was the moment to them to tie the knot in an arranged union. After that, the two females
devised a careful strategy and were able to escape the country. "Their lifeblood must be spilt
in order to sanitise the family name," as their father expressed it. It is now believed that the
girls have brought disgrace and disgrace to their family. This instance illustrates the extent to
which a patriarchal society may see honour killing as legitimate. The majority of honour
killing incidents go undetected.

Social image of the Criminal

According to a various study in 2019 some characteristics associated with murder on the
name of honour killing the decline in the social economy plays a significant role in increasing
the crime rate. Other factors include experience of cruelty of women within the family and
within the surrounding victim and criminal communities. Some of the aggressive behaviours
found in this study including beating by siblings or parents, childhood trauma, abuse by
husband or mother-in-law etc is located. Another important factor affecting honour killing is
a segment of society where there are gender stereotypes poverty is high and there is a need
for debt due to hunger.

The lack of knowledge and ignorance about gender roles, family honour, and their position
have also been determined to be significant contributors to the maintenance of a patriarchal
culture. Tragically, been shown to be taught at a young age, young people even at school. A
previous study stated that education plays an important role in preventing homicides. There is
also a connection between sibling marriage and hepatitis honour killing is like an virus, this is
a system that relies on the obedience of young people for its survival. Another important
factor worth mentioning that has led to increased expansion in honour killing is the rapid
reforms that have increased too quickly for those who attack the bear in the world to think
boldly and strictly.

Arab Governments are doing too little for a honour killing

In some countries in middle east, Government is doing very least for the cases of honour
killing many cases are unreported as like it never happened. In the Patriarchal society a
woman cannot even open their mouth they remain quiet and if any other wants to take stand
for her they will also killed on the name of honour. A person who committing a crime do a
crime in silence and erase all the proofs like it never happened these cases never get reported.
Government also take least interest in these types of cases as there is no victim and proofs of
the cases, In many cultures violence against women is a way to preserve family honour to end
stigma against women. From a legal perspectives is illegal and carries several penalties. It is
not a crime in the name of honour, if this type of killing is considered as a crime, then harsher
penalties should be considered. Many study attributes the culture to Islamic or middle eastern
regions but unfortunately crime has become established as a pattern.

Nowadays, honour killings occur less frequently and the perpetrators are sometimes given, In
Egypt, for instance, Article 237 of Penal Code No. 58, dated 937, stipulates that "Criminals
must be sentenced with incarceration instead of death." Similarly, Article 409 of the 1966
criminal law states that in Iraq, criminals are given only “ A Prison sentence not exceeding
three years”. Also article 334 of law no 6664. In the United Arab Emirates law no 1966 it was
stated that criminals could be imprisoned for “a duration of no more than three years”. Law
no 3/1978 stated that ‘perpetarators will be sentenced to imprisonment’.

Criminals in Kuwait are subject to fines or other punishments in addition to a maximum

sentence of three years in jail, as stated in Article 153 of the criminal code. Perpetrators in
Jordan will reap the benefits of reduced amnesty, which means that killings conducted in the
context of family protection are acceptable and will result in reduced penalties once more.
Research carried out in Pakistan revealed that the anti-honor killing statute resulted in the
arrest of very few culprits. Furthermore, since they turning a blind eye and assist in the
conduct of these crimes, the federal government and local governments steer clear of these
circumstances. However, in nations where murder of honour is prohibited, attorneys
frequently use "protection in the name of honour’ here womens are considered as weapons of
men and murders are considered self- defence. Other prosecutors may plead “ temporay
insanity” to save a criminal from punishment he or she would face if caught.

Similar laws such as the honour killing culture of silence and veiling culture, also occurred in
Palestine. Many crimes go unreported and no matter what cases are brought before the justice
system, some patterns of silence appear. For example shortly after the announcement the
witness disappeared, never to be seen again. Additionally, some witnesses will change their
statements after further investigation, contrary to their previous statements. There are often
also crimes involved and no visible evidence. After, all people go home to live in the house
and the case is paid and never asked again. Additionally, Article 301 of the Iranian Penal
Code states that a father or a grandfather is justified in killing his daughter without seeking
retribution from the judiciary. Additionally, Article 630 allows a man to kill his wife if he
witnesses Adultery, but this benefit is not provided to a women, in honour killing there is a
wide discrimination.

Behind the Veil of Omani Women

Etiquette in Islamic Culture requires women to behave this way at all times, especially when
travelling away from home. At home Omani women wear knee-length dresses with high
heels and cover their hair and a neck with scarf. Many colourful and jalabbiyas are worn at
home as well. When leaving the house, clothing varies according to local preferences. A
person of some religious backgrounds wear burqa a wiqaya (turban), and abaya (a full
covering garment that extends to leave only the hands and body) to protect the face from
other men. Many women from different parts of the Sultanate wear scarves to cover their
hair. Women have to cover themselves always.3

Women are always considered, first and foremost as wives and mothers. Happy marriages
and having children decide their relationship, and when women gets married most of the time
husbands decides what to do and what to not. Marriage is a defining moment in a person’s
life. The Omani women marks her tradition from childhood to womenhood. Although Sultan
Qaboos gave both men and women right to choose their spouses in 1971, tradition says that
the girl father is responsible for arranging the marriage and taking care of his daughter. Since

3
the onset of sexuality must concide with marriage, most girls are married off at a young age,
as such all omani womens are virgin. After marriage if they found not virgin then husbands
or girl father used to kill the women.

The importance of women’s health and well-being has become even more important in recent
years along with developments in other ares of women’s lives. Although the marriage rate of
girls aged 15-20 was 15% in 2004, the statistics is higher in other countries, leading to young
and uneducated parents. In 1994, the government introduced a maternity program and
provided free vaccines at many health center’s to encourage parents to use vaccines. The
program worked and total fertility fell from 7.05 in 1995 to 4.8 in 2000.

Solutions for preventing honour killing

Teams of knowledgable male and female officers will be sent to the villages and action plans
known as honour killing will be prepared with the help of influential people and religious
leaders in the society. Separate meetings will be held for men and women, with reference to
religious contexts and national activities on the fight against honour killing. To have an
impact, anti-genocide newspapers must be distributed.

Honour killing is illegal in most Middle Eastern Countries, but unfortunately still occurs in
some conservative societies, such as Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Oman and many other
countries in the region. Human Right Groups and women’s right activists, and government
have worked to highlight the dangers of honour killings and strengthen laws and regulations
to protect victims and persecute and prosecute offenders. However, there is still much work
to be done to eliminate this crime and ensure the rights and security of women in the region.

Conclusion
Honour Killing is a crime against family honour, but now we must know that there is no
respect for killing people. Culture, tradition and Religion should not be excuses for sinning
because they are obvious and as we humans we understood. The right to freedom of religion
does not guarantee the right to kill. Therefore I believe that the definition of ‘Honour’ has to
be changes in order to stop this atrocity. This may be accomplished by

Raising awareness – Honour killings are particularly prevalent in rural communities, where
the victim is nearly always a female who lacks access to education and is thus unaware of her
rights. As a result, they are reluctant to defend themselves and accept it as a penalty for their
own actions.

Social Changes: The underlying cause of these atrocities is people's mentalities. Marriages
between different castes are still frowned upon. As times change, society wants change as
well. Furthermore, reporting such incidents shouldn't be discouraged by people's fear of
social approval.

Strict legal support: Although such killings may be made illegal by a number of other laws, it
should be noted that these laws only grant general protections. Strict, specifically codified
legal support is required to dissuade society and bring legal action against those who actually
commit these horrible crimes.
4

7%
2%
9%
3%

4
"Women Working in Oman: Individual Choice and Cultural Constraints." International Journal of
Middle East Studies 32.2 (2000): 241-54
Aslam, Neelufer, and Srilekha Goveas. "A Role and Contributions of Women in the Sultanate of Oman."
International Journal of Business and Management 6.3 (2011): 232-39
Aslam, Neelufer, and Srilekha Goveas. "A Role and Contributions of Women in the Sultanate of Oman."
International Journal of Business and Management 6.3 (2011): 232-39
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/more-than-1000-honour-killings-in-india-every-year-experts/
articleshow/6127338.cms.