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| Honor killings are executed for instances of
rape, infidelity , flirting or any other instance perceived as
disgracing the family's honor. |
Every year, hundreds of women and girls are "honorably" killed in the
Middle East by male family members. The "honor
killing" is a thorny
social and political issue. Palestinian activists
campaigning for equality find it difficult to stop the killings
altogether. Legitimacy for such murders stems from a complex code of honor
ingrained in the consciousness of some sectors of Palestinian society.
 What is "honor killing"?
As you may well know, there are certain unfortunate countries, such as
Jordan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt & others where -- girls and women
are murdered by male family members each year in the name of family honor.
Honor killings are executed for instances of rape, infidelity , flirting or any other instance
perceived as disgracing the family's honor, and the woman is then killed
by a male relative to restore the family's name in the community. Many
women are killed based on suspicions of a family member and are not given
the chance to defend themselves. The allegation alone is enough to defile
a man's or family's honor and is therefore enough to justify the killing
of the woman. The men who commit the murder typically go unpunished or
receive reduced sentences.
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| Every year, hundreds of women and girls are "honorably"
killed in the Middle East by male family
members. | Honor killings have been reported
in Bangladesh, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan,
Morocco, Pakistan, Sweden, Turkey, Uganda and the United Kingdom. Honor
killings tend to be prevalent in countries with a majority Muslim
population, but many Islamic leaders and scholars condemn the practice and
deny that it is based on religious doctrine. Honor killing is actually a
pre-Islamic, tribal custom stemming from the patriarchal society's
interest in keeping strict control over familial power structures.
Current status of "honor
killings"
Many people find the practice of honor killings to be unacceptable, but
the practice still continues. In some countries such as Jordan, Morocco
and Syria, "honor crimes" are legally
sanctioned and defense of the family honor is considered a
mitigating factor.
Article 340 of the Penal Code of Jordan used to
contain an exemption from penalty if a man killed his wife or female
relative after finding her "committing adultery with another." This
Article has since been repealed, but there are other Articles that allow
for a reduced sentence if the men were "provoked" into performing the
murder. Article 548 of the Penal Code of Syria also provides an exemption
from penalty if a man kills or injures his wife or female after finding
her committing adultery or other "illegitimate sexual acts with
another." "Honor killings" in the
news
 Sixteen-year-old Hsehu Yones was stabbed to death by her father,
Abdullah Jones, on October 12, 2002, for having a Christian boyfriend and
becoming "Westernized". According to Scotland yard, the stabbing is
believed to be among 12 honor killings in the UK last year. On September
29th, 2003 Abdullah Jones was given a life sentence for his crime, showing
the intolerance of honor killings in the UK.
Public awareness
Two young Berlin Turks protested publicly against
so-called honor killings in January, 2006. Besides positive reactions and
media interest, they also reaped tense responses from family members and
schoolmates.
Journalist Güner Y. Balci initiated a postcard campaign against
so-called "honor killings" in the Berlin girls' club "MaDonna," in early
2005, after a young Turkish woman was killed on the streets of Berlin by
her brother. Balci asked young people to let themselves be photographed
for it. Seventeen-year-old Sinan and his one year younger friend Saithan
immediately agreed.
They thought it was important to publicly set an example against
violence and repression. "Honor is fighting for my sister's freedom!" read
the slogan on the postcard, of which 20,000 were printed and circulated
last year.
Background
在巴基斯坦，每年都有數百名婦女被“榮譽殺害”。據巴基斯坦人權委員會統計，2002年，巴基斯坦約有700名婦女死于“榮譽殺害”，2003年則有450多名婦女死于“榮譽殺害”。
根據聯合國最新公布的統計數字，全世界每年至少有5000名女子被"榮譽殺害"。聯合國人權委員會發表的一份報告稱，這類謀殺案至少在14個國家發生過，這些國家包括印度、巴基斯坦、孟加拉國、土耳其、約旦、摩洛哥、埃及、以色列、烏干達、厄瓜多爾、巴西、英國、意大利、瑞典。此外，還有一些國家，如阿富汗、伊朗、伊拉克等，沒有向聯合國人權委員會提交這方面的報告。不過，在這些國家，"榮譽殺害"也是公開存在的。
近年來，南亞、非洲和中東地區的移民大量涌入英國等歐洲國家，“榮譽殺害”這一陋習也被帶到了歐洲。目前，聯合國婦女發展基金會已與聯合國其他機構、各國政府和數以千計的民間組織緊密合作，開展了“16日行動”。16日是指從11月25日“國際消除對婦女的暴力日”到12月10日“國際人權日”之間的16天。在此期間，世界各地掀起消除針對婦女的暴力的活動高潮，其中一個斗爭重點就是消除“榮譽殺害”現象。
(英語點津陳蓓編輯） |
