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Honor Killings in the Twenty-First Century
Thousands of women are murdered every year by close relatives for allegedly violating an unwritten social code or rebelling against the patriarchal order. The book examines the roots and evolution of honor-based violence, as well as the ongoing struggle to eradicate it worldwide.
- GenresNonfiction
242 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 15, 2011
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June 19, 2018
The concept of honour killing has existed for centuries in Middle Eastern and South Asian populations, but in recent years it has become increasingly visible in the Western media following a number of high profile cases in various European Countries.
It remains a controversial area which is difficult to research, this is in part due to cultural and religious sensitivity, but also due to the reluctance of those involved to discuss their motives and experiences; as the purpose of an honour killing is typically to cleanse alleged dishonour; family members are averse to bringing further attention to their perceived shame (Chesler, 2009).
It is from within this context the author sets out to conduct her own investigation into honour killing, regarding herself as well positioned to carry out the task following her experience of living and working in the Middle East and Turkey as a Journalist for many years. It is through a Journalistic style that Pope’s ethnographic research is recounted to the reader. Through this medium the author attempts to examine honour killing and position it within the larger context of violence against women and also assess the degree to which it is a phenomenon solely associated with Islam.
Honour Killing in the Twenty-First Century attempts to examine the concept of honour and unravel its complex association with murder by firstly investigating its historical origins and through doing so dispelling the myth that it is a problem which stems from Islam. Secondly it attempts to locate honour killings within the larger sphere of violence against women by arguing that it should not be regarded as a distinct phenomenon but should be seen as an extreme expression of the oppression women experience globally and should be tackled as such.
The book is divided into eighteen separate chapters, preceded and followed by a preface and conclusion respectively. Every other chapter is dedicated to a particular case study of one incidence of honour based violence which allows for the contextualisation of the research discussed; it should be noted that not all of these case studies resulted in murder, some of the individuals featured survive and as such provide an interesting alternative perspective into the legacy of fear which remains with those who survive. Following each individual account is a chapter which discusses the complex issues surrounding this controversial topic beginning with its historical origins and moving forward to examine its relationship with religion, patriarchy and to violence against women.
The author makes it clear in the preface that although her initial intention was to go in search of the ‘old traditions’ which still propagate honour killings, this was quickly replaced by the belief that “an arch of patriarchal bullying links honor killings to crimes committed against women in Western societies, even if the narrative and the socio-political background is different.” (xi). This position is maintained throughout the rest of the book and serves as a framework through which honour based violence is examined.
The scope of the book was therefore broadened to allow discussion of other practises of oppression and violence against women including crimes of passion, the dowry deaths of India and incidences of mutilation by acid.
There is a scarcity of primary data available on honour killings (Kulczycki & Windle, 2011) and as such it is commendable that Pope presents a discussion of some primary sources including interviews with activists, lawyers, community leaders and the presentation of case studies. Data from secondary sources is also discussed with a number of court reports and newspaper articles presented and evaluated.
There are a number of methodological observations which must be borne in mind when considering the literature however. There is a difficulty in establishing the validity of data collected through interviews as it may be compromised by the interviewee’s willingness to engage with the researcher especially in relation to such a topic, the potential bias of the interviewer, whether this is unintentionally communicated or not and the difficulty occasionally presented by language barriers. Pope’s interview with Rojin in Chapter 1 is conducted through an interpreter from her immediate family; the very family from which she was in danger. Similarly the secondary sources examined only reflect the cases which have been reported to the police or gone to court and as such may not be representative or generalizable.
The most important and resonant theme which emerges from reading this book is the authors claim that our current understanding of honour based violence is too restrictive. Pope argues that the definition should be broadened to include other examples of oppression and violence against women such as forced marriage, bride exchanges and dowry deaths as they are all part of the same expression of patriarchal rule which survives through the subjugation of women. Furthermore Pope argues in Chapter 2: Honor and Shame that through an exploration of the concept of ‘honour’ and its varying interpretations around the world, it is possible to regard honour killing as not dissimilar to domestic violence and the so called ‘crimes of passion’ that those in Western Countries are more familiar with.
The theoretical debate surrounding whether honour killings are a unique practise specific to certain cultures and traditions or whether they form part of the greater issue of domestic violence features extensively in the literature on honour killings (see Welchman & Hassain, 2005; Warrick, 2005, Khan, 2006). Associating honour killing with domestic violence removes it from its cultural and religious trappings placing it more in a global sphere and is a position adopted by a number of other academics (Begikhani, 2005; Korteweg, 2012).
The conception of honour killing as domestic violence has however been criticised, perhaps most vociferously by Phyllis Chesler (2009) who has argued that honour killings are a distinct form of homicide which needs to be examined as such and that perpetrators of domestic violence are seldom celebrated in society and are more often than not ostracised, while those who order and perform honour killings are regarded as heroes and there is little social stigma attached. Chesler argues forcefully against the opinion held by Muslim advocacy groups, which purport that honour based violence has nothing to do with Muslims or Islam, and that differentiating between honour killing and domestic violence is discriminatory. Pope does not discuss the work of Chesler or other academics holding the converse opinion which is unfortunate as it would have enriched the experience of reading about this issue by contextualising the author’s position within the debate.
The degree to which honour killings can be regarded as primarily an Islamic or Muslim problem and the issue of discrimination naturally emerge out of the first debate and feature as the second most prominent theme which runs throughout the book. Pope discusses the origins of the concept of honour and relates it back to pre-Islamic traditions arguing that it is a practice which has been performed within a number of different religious and cultural contexts. Pope draws on a number of reported cases of honour killing amongst Christians and Sikhs to demonstrate that it is a phenomenon which is not solely associated with Islam but is unable to provide any statistics to illuminate the extent that this is the case. There is similarly little discussion of any empirical research into contemporary attitudes held towards honour killing despite there being a small amount of available research to draw from (Araji & Carlson, 2001; Sheeley, 2007). Pope does however discuss the danger of narrow minded interpretations of Islam extensively in Chapter 12: Religion, Tradition and Patriarchy and discusses the ways in which misinterpretation whether deliberate or not can incite misogynistic attitudes and the belief that violence committed in the name of honour is permitted.
Pope states in the preface that her intention was to broaden the concept of honour-killing to include other forms of violence against women and this is achieved through the many different case studies presented. The strong focus on providing in-depth qualitative case studies provides an insight into the personal experiences of those affected and this helps to bring attention to a serious issue facing women across the globe. However the lack of discussion of any real empirical studies means that the reader is left with little understanding of the few key studies which have been conducted in this area of research.
The book is written with Journalistic flair rather than typical stilted academic prose which has the effect of making it accessible to a wide audience thereby increasing its ability to raise awareness but in doing this Pope risks alienating some ‘serious’ academics who may question the validity of her work because of the problematic methodology and prose style.
Taking that into account however, the book still stands overall as an important contribution to this woefully under-researched area of study and provides a general introduction to the concept of honour based violence and those who have fallen victim to it.
It remains a controversial area which is difficult to research, this is in part due to cultural and religious sensitivity, but also due to the reluctance of those involved to discuss their motives and experiences; as the purpose of an honour killing is typically to cleanse alleged dishonour; family members are averse to bringing further attention to their perceived shame (Chesler, 2009).
It is from within this context the author sets out to conduct her own investigation into honour killing, regarding herself as well positioned to carry out the task following her experience of living and working in the Middle East and Turkey as a Journalist for many years. It is through a Journalistic style that Pope’s ethnographic research is recounted to the reader. Through this medium the author attempts to examine honour killing and position it within the larger context of violence against women and also assess the degree to which it is a phenomenon solely associated with Islam.
Honour Killing in the Twenty-First Century attempts to examine the concept of honour and unravel its complex association with murder by firstly investigating its historical origins and through doing so dispelling the myth that it is a problem which stems from Islam. Secondly it attempts to locate honour killings within the larger sphere of violence against women by arguing that it should not be regarded as a distinct phenomenon but should be seen as an extreme expression of the oppression women experience globally and should be tackled as such.
The book is divided into eighteen separate chapters, preceded and followed by a preface and conclusion respectively. Every other chapter is dedicated to a particular case study of one incidence of honour based violence which allows for the contextualisation of the research discussed; it should be noted that not all of these case studies resulted in murder, some of the individuals featured survive and as such provide an interesting alternative perspective into the legacy of fear which remains with those who survive. Following each individual account is a chapter which discusses the complex issues surrounding this controversial topic beginning with its historical origins and moving forward to examine its relationship with religion, patriarchy and to violence against women.
The author makes it clear in the preface that although her initial intention was to go in search of the ‘old traditions’ which still propagate honour killings, this was quickly replaced by the belief that “an arch of patriarchal bullying links honor killings to crimes committed against women in Western societies, even if the narrative and the socio-political background is different.” (xi). This position is maintained throughout the rest of the book and serves as a framework through which honour based violence is examined.
The scope of the book was therefore broadened to allow discussion of other practises of oppression and violence against women including crimes of passion, the dowry deaths of India and incidences of mutilation by acid.
There is a scarcity of primary data available on honour killings (Kulczycki & Windle, 2011) and as such it is commendable that Pope presents a discussion of some primary sources including interviews with activists, lawyers, community leaders and the presentation of case studies. Data from secondary sources is also discussed with a number of court reports and newspaper articles presented and evaluated.
There are a number of methodological observations which must be borne in mind when considering the literature however. There is a difficulty in establishing the validity of data collected through interviews as it may be compromised by the interviewee’s willingness to engage with the researcher especially in relation to such a topic, the potential bias of the interviewer, whether this is unintentionally communicated or not and the difficulty occasionally presented by language barriers. Pope’s interview with Rojin in Chapter 1 is conducted through an interpreter from her immediate family; the very family from which she was in danger. Similarly the secondary sources examined only reflect the cases which have been reported to the police or gone to court and as such may not be representative or generalizable.
The most important and resonant theme which emerges from reading this book is the authors claim that our current understanding of honour based violence is too restrictive. Pope argues that the definition should be broadened to include other examples of oppression and violence against women such as forced marriage, bride exchanges and dowry deaths as they are all part of the same expression of patriarchal rule which survives through the subjugation of women. Furthermore Pope argues in Chapter 2: Honor and Shame that through an exploration of the concept of ‘honour’ and its varying interpretations around the world, it is possible to regard honour killing as not dissimilar to domestic violence and the so called ‘crimes of passion’ that those in Western Countries are more familiar with.
The theoretical debate surrounding whether honour killings are a unique practise specific to certain cultures and traditions or whether they form part of the greater issue of domestic violence features extensively in the literature on honour killings (see Welchman & Hassain, 2005; Warrick, 2005, Khan, 2006). Associating honour killing with domestic violence removes it from its cultural and religious trappings placing it more in a global sphere and is a position adopted by a number of other academics (Begikhani, 2005; Korteweg, 2012).
The conception of honour killing as domestic violence has however been criticised, perhaps most vociferously by Phyllis Chesler (2009) who has argued that honour killings are a distinct form of homicide which needs to be examined as such and that perpetrators of domestic violence are seldom celebrated in society and are more often than not ostracised, while those who order and perform honour killings are regarded as heroes and there is little social stigma attached. Chesler argues forcefully against the opinion held by Muslim advocacy groups, which purport that honour based violence has nothing to do with Muslims or Islam, and that differentiating between honour killing and domestic violence is discriminatory. Pope does not discuss the work of Chesler or other academics holding the converse opinion which is unfortunate as it would have enriched the experience of reading about this issue by contextualising the author’s position within the debate.
The degree to which honour killings can be regarded as primarily an Islamic or Muslim problem and the issue of discrimination naturally emerge out of the first debate and feature as the second most prominent theme which runs throughout the book. Pope discusses the origins of the concept of honour and relates it back to pre-Islamic traditions arguing that it is a practice which has been performed within a number of different religious and cultural contexts. Pope draws on a number of reported cases of honour killing amongst Christians and Sikhs to demonstrate that it is a phenomenon which is not solely associated with Islam but is unable to provide any statistics to illuminate the extent that this is the case. There is similarly little discussion of any empirical research into contemporary attitudes held towards honour killing despite there being a small amount of available research to draw from (Araji & Carlson, 2001; Sheeley, 2007). Pope does however discuss the danger of narrow minded interpretations of Islam extensively in Chapter 12: Religion, Tradition and Patriarchy and discusses the ways in which misinterpretation whether deliberate or not can incite misogynistic attitudes and the belief that violence committed in the name of honour is permitted.
Pope states in the preface that her intention was to broaden the concept of honour-killing to include other forms of violence against women and this is achieved through the many different case studies presented. The strong focus on providing in-depth qualitative case studies provides an insight into the personal experiences of those affected and this helps to bring attention to a serious issue facing women across the globe. However the lack of discussion of any real empirical studies means that the reader is left with little understanding of the few key studies which have been conducted in this area of research.
The book is written with Journalistic flair rather than typical stilted academic prose which has the effect of making it accessible to a wide audience thereby increasing its ability to raise awareness but in doing this Pope risks alienating some ‘serious’ academics who may question the validity of her work because of the problematic methodology and prose style.
Taking that into account however, the book still stands overall as an important contribution to this woefully under-researched area of study and provides a general introduction to the concept of honour based violence and those who have fallen victim to it.
February 27, 2013
I was a little worried about this based on the title, but I was pleasantly surprised. The author has lived and worked in Turkey and presents the cases of honor killings in a compelling way that isn't tainted by the usual orientalist, sensationalist crap you see in the New York Times or Fox News or wherever it is people usually get their information about honor killings.
Each chapter is a case of a young woman; Pope is a great writer, and integrates themes of gender, honor/shame, tradition/modernity, sexuality, etc. throughout all the chapters. Great read, I definitely learned a lot.
Each chapter is a case of a young woman; Pope is a great writer, and integrates themes of gender, honor/shame, tradition/modernity, sexuality, etc. throughout all the chapters. Great read, I definitely learned a lot.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews