honor killing

honor killing, most often, the murder of a woman or girl by male family members. The killers justify their actions by claiming that the victim has brought dishonor upon the family name or prestige.

In patriarchal societies, the activities of girls and women are closely monitored. The maintenance of a woman’s virginity and “sexual purity” are considered to be the responsibility of male relatives—first her father and brothers and then her husband. Victims of honor killings usually are alleged to have engaged in “sexually immoral” actions, ranging from openly conversing with men who are not related to them to having sex outside of marriage (even if they are the victims of rape or sexual assault). However, a woman can be targeted for murder for a variety of other reasons, including refusing to enter into an arranged marriage or seeking a divorce or separation—even from an abusive husband. The mere suspicion that a woman has acted in a manner that could damage her family’s name may trigger an attack; these assumptions are generally based on men’s feelings and perceptions rather than on objective truth. Ironically, female relatives often defend the killings and occasionally help set them up.

Although such crimes are widely suspected to be underreported, the United Nations Population Fund estimates that as many as 5,000 women are killed annually for reasons of honor. These crimes take place throughout the world and are not limited to one specific religion or faith. However, they have rather significantly and consistently occurred in various parts of the Middle East and South Asia, with nearly half of all honor killings occurring in India and Pakistan.

In the 21st century, there was an increased international awareness of honor killing, however, some countries remained reluctant to take the necessary steps to effectively criminalize it. In the relatively uncommon event that a man was prosecuted for the killing, the subsequent trial would often focus on the woman’s alleged behaviour, rather than the violence committed against her. When a man was found guilty, the defendant could claim that the crime had been committed to restore sullied family honor and petition the court for a reduced sentence. In India, for example, the government enacted strict penalties for violence against women during the 1980s. However, honor killings based on intercaste and interreligious marriages continued to take place in rural areas, where they were largely unreported to police because of direct or indirect support among village residents. Such murders were often ruled as accidents when reported. A woman beaten, burned, strangled, shot, or stabbed to death could be ruled a suicide, even if there were multiple wounds and there was no possibility the woman could have killed herself.

In some countries, such as Jordan, honor killings are either legal or minimally punished. Article 340 of the Jordanian Penal Code exempts from punishment those who kill female relatives found “guilty” of committing adultery, and Article 76 of the temporary penal code allows defendants to cite “mitigating reasons” in assault crimes. In 2011 Jordanian legislators attempted to amend Article 76 to prevent its use by defendants in honor killings, but pressure from social groups caused those efforts to stall.