1. Murder in the Name of Honor
“Imagine your sister
or daughter being
killed for chewing
gum, for laughing at a
joke in the street, for
wearing make-up or a
short skirt, for
choosing her own
boyfriend/husband
or becoming
pregnant” (xi).

2. In Our Own Backyard
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xs7oKrG
7Pc&feature=related

3. Book Review
• “A so-called honour killing occurs when a
family feels that their female relative has
tarnished their reputation by what they
loosely term ‘immoral behavior’”(xi)
• Often the crime is committed by a male
relative

4. Book Review
• What is honor?
• “Why should a person work? Why should he
live anyway? This is first for his honour and
second for daily bread” (219)
-taken from a report of honor crimes in Turkey
• “Beliefs relating to women as the bearers of
family honour are still embedded in many
people’s minds…but these beliefs are about
control, not honour” (220).

5. Book Review
• Interview with a killer
• “lenience was made possible by Article 98 of
the Penal Code which permits those acting in
a ‘fit of fury’ to benefit from reduced
penalties” (13).
• “No family wants to see its male relative
executed or locked up for good” (15).

6. Book Review
• Women are detained “for indefinite periods
and with no official charges, under what the
government calls ‘protective custody’ or
‘administrative detention’” (27).
• Ways to be released
1.A male relative must “sign a guarantee worth
$7,000 that he will not harm her”
2.A male bidder asks to marry a woman who will
be released into his custody (28).

7. Book Review
• Kifaya, 16, was raped by her older brother
and forced to abort the child. She was then
married off but divorced six months later.
• This was seen as bringing shame onto the
family.
• Her uncle stated, “She seduced her brother.
She tarnished the family’s honour and
deserved to die” (5).

8. Rana Husseini
• Kifaya’s story in 1994 inspired Husseini to
write about and expose the truth about honor
killings in Jordan
• “I wanted to become the voice of these
women whose lives have been wiped out and
every record of their existence destroyed by
their family. I would expose each and every
murder I heard about. I didn’t realize then
quite how busy I was going to be”(7).

9. Rana Husseini
• As a writer for the Jordan
Times Husseini became
known for her writings on
Courtesy of
honor killings.
activisminstitute.org • Her reporting led to death
threats (8).
• She fights against
legislation in Jordan that
Courtesy of
ranahusseini.com
gives those who commit
honor killings more
lenient sentences.

10. Book Review
• Misconceptions
• Forbidden Love later published in the USA as Honor
Lost by Norma Khouri
• Khouri stated Christians were oppressed and had to
follow Islamic law and that they were unable to
build new churches
• “The bells of Christian churches ring on every
religious occasion in Jordan” (92).
• First published in 2002
• “Khouri failed to provide evidence that she ever
lived in Jordan” (97). Publishers withdrew in 2004.

11. Reviews of the book
• "Rana is utterly inspiring. She is a young
woman of courage, committed to the
principles of truth and justice ... If enough
people read this book, maybe the next time a
young woman is being stoned to death for
having fallen in love, someone will intervene
to save her life."
--Jane Fonda, actress, writer, and political
activist

12. Reviews of the Book
• “Disturbing, informative, and readable.
Murder in the Name of Honor tackles one of
the most shocking crimes of the 21st century.
A remarkable insight into a horrifying crime
and a call to action for everyone who cares
about human rights. A must read.”
-Kerry Kennedy, founder of the Robert F.
Kennedy Center for Human Rights

13. Reviews of the Book
• “This fight is far from over, but more and more
Jordanians are looking beyond platitudes on
female chastity and subservience and to the
horror underneath. Even some people from
highly conservative backgrounds are openly
talking about how this phenomenon is
unacceptable.”
-Natalia Antonova Deputy editor of Moscow
News

14. Background of the Violence Against
Women
“…Early man, who wants to ensure his genes
were passed on. The simplest way for him to do
this was to make sure that ‘his’ woman does not
have sex with other men. Men who controlled
‘their’ women were seen as strong leaders of
high status and therefore were honored by
others in the tribe. As time went on, the honor
of a group (or individual man) depended on the
behavior and morality of its female members (or
his female relatives).”

15. Background of the Violence Against
Women (Cont.)
“ A sexualized form of honor continues to develop,
with women being seen as a form of property, a
valued commodity to be traded. So women’s bodies
and sexualities gained a monetary value, which lead
their husbands and families to regulate and guard
their sexual behavior. As patriarchal notions of
morality and culture became deeply entrenched,
these idealizations of women’s sexual behavior
gradually came to be reinforced by dress codes and
notions of right and wrong.”

16. Background of Violence Against
Women in Immigrant Societies
• Conflicts between the parents and their children:
– Children integrate in the society more than their parents as they master
the language faster than their parents, so parents feel that they lose
control over their children.
– Children are attracted to the liberal rights in their new environment,
which provide them with independence and equality; in contrast to , the
patriarchal system that they live in inside their homes.
– Ignorance from the officials to honor-related violence and crimes.

17. Ignorance from the Officials in Immigrant
Societies to Honor-Crimes
• Officials look at this crimes as “culturally-
based” violence, so deal with them as a
separate phenomena from their own society.
“Otherness” “Death by Culture”
• It is the murders who gain the support of the
extended family and their community NOT the
victims.
• Officials, witnesses, and activists are
frightened to fight against these crimes.

18. PBS Interview-Rana Husseini
• “The only way to rectify the family’s honor is to
have the wife, daughter, sister killed. ‘Blood
cleanses honor’ the killers say.” – Rana Husseini
- “An honor killing occurs when a male relative
decides to take the life of a female relative
because, in his opinion, she has dishonored her
family’s reputation by engaging in an "immoral"
act. An immoral act could be that she was simply
seen with a strange man or that she slept with a
man. In many cases, women are killed just
because of rumors or unfounded suspicions.”

19. Husseini Cont.
• Main Argument:
- Honor killings are part of a culture, not a religion
- Classified as “isolated and limited, although they do
cross class and education boundaries.”
- Crimes are not mandated by Islam.
“ Islam is very strict about killing, and in the rare
instances where killing is counseled, it is when adultery
is committed within a married couple. In these cases,
there must be four eyewitnesses and the punishment
must be carried out by the community, not by the
family members involved.”

20. Religious Based Violence Against
Women
• “The ‘woman’ question has figured prominently
in Islamist discourses and legal frames. These
discourses and laws led not only to social and
sexual controls over women but also to physical
violence and death.”
• “Violent politics of militant Islamist movements
are rooted in struggle against secular
modernities, feminisms and globalization, in
hegemonic masculinity and the legacy of the
heroic Islamic warrior.”
Author: Valentine M. Moghadam

21. Statistics

22. • According to most sources including the United
Nations, about 5,000 women are victims of honor
killings each year.
• However, this statistic is definitely a rough
estimate.
- Some honor killings are not differentiated from
domestic violence therefore they are not
counted.
- Many suspected or definite honor killings are not
recorded due to lack of reporting.

23. Geographical Components

24. World
Honor Killings: A Global View
In the name of family honor, "women and young girls are set ablaze, strangled, shot at,
clubbed, stabbed, tortured, axed, or stoned to death," a United Nations report (PDF) stated in
2004.
No one knows just how many people are murdered each year to restore family honor. The
killings often go unreported, and even when a murder is reported, it can be difficult
distinguishing between an "honor killing" and an incident of domestic violence.
The map above shows countries where honor killings have been reported.,but given the
challenge of recording these incidents, the map should not be considered exhaustive.

25. Corollaries in the US
• Cases within the United States
• Lewisville, Texas father murders his two
daughters it was reported that he often accused
them of being too “westernized” (210).
• Chiman Rai, an immigrant from India and a
professor of math in Mississippi, paid two hitmen
to murder his son’s black wife. He expressed
disapproval of their interracial marriage (212).

26. Corollaries in the US
• Mentalities
• In Maryland Kenneth Peacock murdered his wife
with a shotgun a few hours after discovering she
was having an affair.
• In his sentencing the judge stated “I seriously
wonder how many married men…would have the
strength to walk away…without inflicting some
corporal punishment…I am forced to impose a
sentence” (208).
• He was sentenced to eighteen months

27. Positive Changes

28. Changes Across The Globe
• Internationally, many countries are starting to
realize the gravity of so-called honor killings
and many have initiated their own campaigns
and activities such as Pakistan, Syria, Turkey,
Lebanon and Palestine.

29. Efforts against honor killings in UK
• The London-based Iranian and Kurdish
Women’s Rights Organization (IKWRO)
launched the ‘Justice for Banaz ’ campaign .
• They succeeded to:
1. Force the police to investigate why they
failed to help Banaz.
2. Influence the police to reset its procedures in
handling family violence, especially in
immigrant societies.

30. (IKWRO) achievements in Banaz’s case
(Cont.)
3. The Independent Police Complaints Commission
(IPCC) and the police released a statements that
banaz had been “let down by the police and
suffered from delays and, poor supervision, and a
lack of understanding and insensitivity”.
4. Six detectives in Banaz’s case received written
warnings and one constable received “words of
advice”.
5. IKWRO is now working with the Crown
Prosecution Service (CPS) to help them deal with
the honor crimes.

31. Legal Steps Against Honor killings in UK
I. In 2005, a joint between the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office and Home Office Forced
Marriage Unit (FMU) was launched by the UK
government to:
1. Set a governmental policy on forced marriages.
2. Cooperate with outreach projects and provide
information for those who are at risk.
3. Trace people who might have been kidnaped
nationally or abroad.

32. Legal Steps Against Honor killings in UK
(Cont.)
II. The Crown Prosecution Services:
Provide specialist lawyers to deal with honor
crimes.

33. Heroes of Honor Project, Sweden
• It is an awareness raising project in Sweden.
• It targets boys and young men.
• The project’s aim is to influence the males in
the immigrant communities about the
concept of honor crimes as well as declaring
the opposition of Islam to these crimes.
• The project offers group discussions and
counseling for girls.

34. Because of Husseini’s Work- Jordan
• King Hussein opened the Thirteenth Parliament
mentioning women and their rights—the first time a ruler
had emphasized women and children.
• King Hassan is following in his father’s footsteps, with a
new constitution where he put in two new sections, one on
women.
• He asked the prime minister to amend all the laws that
discriminate against women. What was not included was a
solution;
• Solution Suggestions: We could begin with a shelter for
women. Instead of putting women who seek haven from
their families in prison, the government could have
programs to rehabilitate them.

35. The Lebanese Women Democratic
Gathering
• It conducts several studies on domestic violence against women in
Lebanon.
• Observational Study:
- Investigates 500 domestic violence cases from different Lebanese NGOs.
- The cases are chosen from the year 2000-2005.
- Purpose:
A. Identify different forms of domestic
violence in the Lebanese family against women (wives, daughters,
sisters, mothers).
B. Identifying the responses to domestic violence from
the other members of the family.
C. Illustrate how women define and recognize the different forms
of violence against them.
D. Proposing the best ways to deal with domestic violence.

36. Honor Killing in Egypt (2002)
90
80
70
60
Percentage 50
40
30
20
10
0
Being suspected adultery hide incest others
Causes of Honor Killing
(Khafagy, 2005)

37. Global Themes
• Some governments prevent press coverage for
any efforts of reforms.
For example: the royal march in Jordan & the
Egyptian revolution
• Activism lead to publicizing the honor killings
in Jordan and Pakistan internationally (dowry-
related deaths in India)

38. “The Road to Real Honour”
1. Activism as it plays a great role in raising the awareness about the
problem and influences the governments to take positive steps.
2. Education as it is a vital tool in eliminating honor crimes through
changing the beliefs about the acceptance of honor crimes among
men and women.
3. Increase funding for NGOs and shelters.
4. NGOs should not stop their efforts in front of the dismissive
statements from the politicians because every woman victim
counts.
5. Extensive research needs to be done in order to identify
successful preventative methods.
6. Initiatives should be home-grown and supported by national
organizations rather than being enforced or imported from other
countries, a strategy that can often cause resentment (217).

39. Conclusion of the Book
• “ I have included as many human examples as
possible within this book, to show that this is a
very real tragedy, that every day, all across the
world, bright young women are being slaughtered
for no good reason” (221).
• “There also needs to be a focus on raising public
awareness and I strongly believe that one of the
most effective methods in reducing honour-based
murder is to highlight and humanize each killing
and crime and make it known to
everyone, including legislators, the media, the
public and the relevant authorities” (216).