Oct 27, 2016 recorded honor killings on the rise in jordan. Using data collected based on the protocol for the united states extremist crime database ecdb, we identified a total of 16 honor crimes with 40 victims that occurred between. The following are excerpts from a report about honor crimes in jordan and the way the jordanian authorities deal with this phenomenon. She added that honour crimes have sometimes been committed many years after a womans release. Jordanianborn author norma khouri is battling claims that her book. One cannot deny what it actually means to be in a society that doesnt appreciate you because of your gender, colour, or beliefs. Recorded honor killings on the rise in jordan human. The notion that religion, mainly islam, enforces honor crimes is a misconception. Honor killings and the construction of gender in arab societiest. The best contemporary jordanian writers add to plan the tapestry of jordanian art and culture is constantly shifting as creative practitioners attempt to respond to the complexities of the political and social world within the wider middle east. Honor crimes violate the basic human rights of women, but societies continue to practice this crime. During the course of 1999, a unique civil society phenomenon emerged in the arab, muslim middle east, specifically in jordan.
This type of murder takes place almost all over the world but it is identified in different ways according to culture, religion, social practices and gender relations. Across the arab world, a womens spring comes into view. Honor killings and the construction of gender in arab societies. Womens rights in the arab world updated december 1999 category. Nov 12 thomson reuters foundation egypt is the worst country for women in the arab world, closely followed by iraq, saudi arabia, syria and yemen, according to. The death of a young palestinian woman in the west bank has sparked widespread outrage across the middle east amid accusations that it is nothing but another case of socalled. Jordan has one of the worlds lowest rates of female homicide. Honor killings rise in palestinian territories, sparking. Sep 16, 20 this policy recommendation is in agreement with past attempts at policy change, but suggests a broader focus, funding, and sanctions against the violating country. Court rules that muslim woman in danger of honor killing in jordan will not be sent back nov 24, 2017 11. Jordan abolishes rape law, it must follow suit with honor killing law. Crimes of honor are by far socially applauded crimes, applying male s superiority to liquidate their woman folks should they commit or be suspect of a bad sexual behavior.
The act occurs worldwide but is particularly prevalent in asia and africa. Jun 20, 1999 across the arab world, in jordan, egypt, syria, lebanon, yemen, the palestinian territories and among israeli arabs, a new generation of activists has quietly begun to battle these honor killings. This places jordan alongside several other arab countries that have revoked similar laws, among them morocco, tunisia and egypt. Women in politics and honor crimes in jordan mena women. Revolution in the arab world in january 2011 we asked arab writers, including tamim albarghouti, hisham matar and mourid barghouti, to react to the uprisings they return to reflect on an. Jordan says honour killing is against islam the national. This lively collection of eight short stories about arab teenagers living in iraq, tunisia, egypt, the west bank, lebanon, syria, jordan, and a palestinian refugee camp engagingly depicts young peoples experiences growing up in the middle east. A study of amman, jordan, teens attitudes about honor murders finds that almost half of boys and one in five girls believe harsh punishments can be justified. She believes that honor killings are not a modern construction and has nothing to do with religion.
Murder in the name of honour and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. Jan, 2012 revolution in the arab world in january 2011 we asked arab writers, including tamim albarghouti, hisham matar and mourid barghouti, to react to the uprisings they return to reflect on an. Nov 12, 20 nov 12 thomson reuters foundation egypt is the worst country for women in the arab world, closely followed by iraq, saudi arabia, syria and yemen, according to gender experts surveyed in a. Crimes of honor are therefore social in the full sense of the word. Feb 24, 2017 9 essential books by arab writers by louisa ermelino. An exploratory study of honor crimes in the united states. In the fall of 2016, the number of women in parliamentary seats in jordan rose to 20 from a record number of female candidates, according to an article in the guardian. It happens all over the world and has nothing to do with arab culture, she continues, adding that some of the victims in jordan have been christian. A national public opinion survey on honor killings at. This article is a discussion of honor killings in the arab world. Jordan saw the most significant struggle for improving womens rights. In the case of honor crimes, judges often reduce the sentence by half, and perpetrators can serve as little as two years or no time at all. This article examines legislative measures dealing with crimes of honour in the arab world egypt, iraq, jordan, kuwait, lebanon, libya, syria and tunisia and five mediterranean countries spain, italy, france, portugal and turkey. An interesting, solid, informationpacked book on honor killings in the middle east.
The levels of such crimes are less known in bangladesh, but there have been cases in diasporic bangladeshi communities so there is a potential risk there. Every year, nearly a thousand people are known to be killed in the name of honor in pakistan. The death of a young palestinian woman in the west bank has sparked widespread outrage across the middle east amid accusations that it. Honor killings and the construction of gender in arab. This article discusses the regulation and adjudication of honor killings in the arab world and traces the distributive and disciplinary impact of such regulationadjudication on arab men and arab womens sexuality. An honor killing or crime with violence but not murder often. Focusing on the issues of rape and honor killings in the arab world, particularly jordan, this article investigates the use of criminal laws as an element in political. India and pakistan both have recorded rates of honour killings of around per year, although as ever figures remain unreliable. If syria is to rise from the ashes it needs a united arab world which has one thing on its agenda, not the falling of a dictator for we have seen many of those fall, but the reemergence of a prosperous arab nation, one that is not reliant on foreign aid but is selfsustained and.
Family violence including crimes of honor in jordan. On august 1, 2017, following a heated debate and as part of a series of legal amendments, the jordanian parliament revoked article 308 of the penal code that allowed rapists to avoid punishment if they married their victims. We continue to be concerned that honor killings in jordan claim an average of 25 womens lives every year according to a recent study june 2009 entitled crimes of honor in jordan and the arab. The campaigns experience shows both the possibilities for civil society in the arab world and the difficulties in raising an autonomous voice for democratic protest under conditions of limited political liberalization. Social media unites arab women for digital activism across. The first factor is the jordanian societys willful ignorance of islamic penal law and the directives of the. In jordan, honor crimes can mean prison time fair observer. If syria is to rise from the ashes it needs a united arab world which has one thing on its agenda, not the falling of a dictator for we have seen many of those fall, but the reemergence of a prosperous arab nation, one that is not reliant on foreign aid but is selfsustained and set on its way to become powerful once again. According to the united nations, 5,000 women around the world are murdered each year in the name of preserving their family honor and reputation. A long public debate was held by womens movements and human rights ngos in an attempt to cancel article 340 of the. Nov, 2019 honor crimes are extremely violent cultural practices against women in general, and women in the arab region in particular, culminating in murder by a male family member. Letter to jordan s minister of justice on honor crimes. Jordan journalist and human rights advocate and author of a murder in the name of honour, about socalled honour killings, rana husseini at a. A glimpse of domestic violence in the arab world article in issues in mental health nursing 231.
This girl is languishing in jail because her family is threatening to kill her after she was assaulted by a man who ruined her life. As she puts down her tea onto the handmade wooden table, the marks where other glasses had sat shows the wear the corner has weathered. The concept of honor was an integral part of arab society long before the spread of islam, and today it seems to permeate the culture to such a degree that. Honor killings claim the lives of around 5, 000 women every year. Jordanian women change the conversation about honor killings. The brother convicted of her rape was sentenced to years. Honor crimes are extremely violent cultural practices against women in general, and women in the arab region in particular, culminating in murder by a male family member. A national public opinion survey on honor killings. Murder of israa ghareeb renews debate over honor killings. Metacontingency and macrocontingency analysis related to. Many more go unreported, considered a part of everyday life. About socalled crimes of honor rana husseini website.
And saudi arabia seems to lead this scene in the arab world. We used an open source search methodology to identify the victimoffender relationship and motivations for this crime within the united states. What is it like to be a young person in the arab world today. Jul 05, 2017 saudi arabias royal family, which is currently in a power play to rule middle eastern politics, is a hierarchy of megawealthy, closely related backstabbing princes. Jordan abolishes rape law, it must follow suit with honor. Calls for action as honour killings in jordan show sharp increase.
Honor killings and the construction of gender in arab societies jstor. Women in politics in the fall of 2016, the number of women in parliamentary seats in jordan rose to 20 from a record number of female candidates, according to an article in the guardian. A long public debate was held by womens movements and human rights ngos in an attempt to cancel article 340 of the jordanian penal code. Pregnant womans throat slit in honor killing in jordan. Egypts rise in honor killings sparks regional debate. The definition of crimes of honor is by no means straight forward.
A bill to set mandatory jail terms for honor killings was defeated by jordans parliament in 2000, and a new proposed bill that would require at least a 5year sentence for such murders has almost no chance of being enacted into law. This policy recommendation is in agreement with past attempts at policy change, but suggests a broader focus, funding, and sanctions against the violating country. Readers interested in learning more about honor crimes in jordan might find the following resources helpful. A world bank report recently ranked saudi arabia as top reformer and the top improver among 190 countries in terms of gender. In their edited book honor, lynn welchman and sara hossain define crimes of honor as follows. Mar 02, 2005 despite their occurrence in jordan and other muslim nations, honor killings are a preislamic, tribal custom, condoned neither by islam nor by any other major world religion, analysts say. Dec 09, 2016 calls for action as honour killings in jordan show sharp increase. Honor killing attitudes amongst adolescents in amman. Typical reasons include divorcing or separating from their spouse, refusing to enter an arranged, child or forced marriage, being in a. Oct 31, 2017 in jordan, the state puts women who are at risk of honor crimes into protective custody, which often means prison without charge.
Court rules that muslim woman in danger of honor killing in jordan will not be sent back. Her eyes begin to tear up even before any words are released from her lips. There are women around the world that are prejudged and misunderstood by extremists, that is the truth the books has told. The campaign to eliminate socalled crimes of honor. This article discusses the regulation and adjudication of honor killings in the arab world and traces the distributive and disciplinary impact of such regulationadjudication on arab men and arab wo. Jun 20, 20 a study of amman, jordan, teens attitudes about honor murders finds that almost half of boys and one in five girls believe harsh punishments can be justified. Perpetrators see it as social cleansing of shame, and seeking the communitys approval. Honor crimes in jordan are the result of two factors. The locus of crimes of honor in the jordanian penal code no. Across the arab world, in jordan, egypt, syria, lebanon, yemen, the palestinian territories and among israeli arabs, a new generation of activists has quietly begun to battle these honor killings. An honor killing or shame killing is the murder of a member of a family, due to the perpetrators belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonor upon the family, or has violated the principles of a community or a religion with an honor culture. Scope of this paper this article will study and analyze the honor crime phenomenon in jordan from a social, legal and historical point of view. A national public opinion survey on honor killings ellen r. Official statistics show that 25 womenthe majority of them teenagersare killed each year in socalled honor crimes, which constitute 25 percent of the annual homicides in jordan.
After amendments were passed to article 98 of the penal code in 2017, perpetrators of honor crimes can no longer receive lenient sentences. In jordan, a nation of five million people, thirteen honor crimes. Jul 29, 2016 the university of cambridge has also reported that the government of jordan has increasingly criminalized honor killings, and in 2009 a special court for prosecuting honor crimes was. Calls for action as honour killings in jordan show sharp. Jordanian journalist rana husseini on murder in the name. Nov 26, 2018 every year, nearly a thousand people are known to be killed in the name of honor in pakistan. Santa claus in baghdad and other stories about teens in the arab world. Lying on the asphalt, her books still close by, her warm blood. Santa claus in baghdad and other stories about teens in. The book says that dalia, a muslim became friends with khouri. But, he added, that is the culture of the arab world. Arab media, femicide, honour, honour crimes, violence against women. May 30, 2010 amman, jordan for the first time after more than a decade of activism trying to stop socalled honor crimes, rana husseini says she doesnt have a lot to complain about in jordan. However, a loophole still exists in article 340 that allows lenient sentences for the murder of a spouse found redhandedly committing adultery.
As per the bbc, an honor killing is the murder of a person accused of bringing shame upon his or her family. The jordanian authorities ways of dealing with honor crimes. Inside the lavish, brutal world of saudi arabias royal family. Mar 09, 2011 violence is among the leading causes of death and disability in all parts of the world for women of age 15 to 44. In jordan, honor crimes can mean prison time middle east news. The university of cambridge has also reported that the government of jordan has increasingly criminalized honor killings, and in 2009 a special court for prosecuting honor crimes was. Bestseller on honour killing is a fake world news the guardian.
Socalled crimes of honor are effectively the murder of girls or women by their fathers, brothers or other male relatives to cleanse their family honor. In jordan, the state puts women who are at risk of honor crimes into protective custody, which often means prison without charge. Love and death in modern day jordan by norma khouri. Honor crimes are committed when a woman shames her family by having a premarital sexual relationship, an adulterous affair, other. There is a lack of research on honor crimes within the united states. Many more go unreported, considered a part of everyday life but the killings in kohistan became. A group of young jordanians formed this campaign with the purpose, as the name suggests, of combating honor crimes in which women who are suspected of sexual deviance. The author uses the example of jordan, one of the countries that has the highest rate of such crimes, to argue her point. Amman, jordan for the first time after more than a decade of activism trying to stop socalled honor crimes, rana husseini says she doesnt have a lot to complain about in jordan. The suspected honor killings of two teenage girls in gaza in recent days drew a rebuke from hanan ashrawi, a top official with the palestine liberation organization, who.
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