This article is a discussion of honor killings in the arab world. Additionally, 24 women went into protective police custody to avoid being killed by male relatives. Solid, informationpacked book on honor killings in the middle east. The story of honor crimes lie in the west al bawaba. According to human rights watch, around 15 to 20 women are reportedly killed each year in the name of family honor. Remarkable arab women who have made a positive impact on society through their work and vision were feted at the 2019 arab women of the year awards in.
Alarabiya tv aired this report on may 18, 2005 tv presenter. In 2004, at a meeting in the hague about the rising tide of honor killings in europe, law enforcement officers from the u. Aug 09, 2017 across the arab world, a womens spring comes into view. Worldwide trends in honor killings middle east quarterly. An honor killing or shame killing is the murder of a member of a family, due to the perpetrators. Odehs recent book, jordanians, palestinians and the hashemite kingdom treats these.
Most recently, in a sixty minutes interview abc, sunday, april 2, 2000, the new jordanian queen, h. The death of israa ghrayeb has ignited furious reactions regarding the socalled honourkillings in palestine and throughout the arab world. Jordan says honour killing is against islam the national. The economic underpinnings of honor crimes in jordan. Calls for action as honour killings in jordan show sharp. What is it like to be a young person in the arab world today. In 2009, husseini finished writing her book on socalled honour crimes in the world, with special emphasis on jordan. Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for jordan. The campaign to eliminate socalled crimes of honor can be seen as a starting point for the proposal of ending honor killings. Across the arab world, a womens spring comes into view.
Women in politics and honor crimes in jordan mena women. Most violence against women in general, and in jordan in particular, takes place in the home, and is carried out by perpetrators who are directly related to the. Honor crimes in jordan are the result of two factors. Queen rania, acknowledged that honor crimes are still taking place. It inspired jordans article 340 which permits murder of a wife and her lover if. 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. Oct 20, 2017 in 2016, 38 women were victims of honor killings in jordan, a country that generally records 15 to 20 of these crimes annually, according to human rights watch and an article in the guardian. Sep 16, 20 the campaign to eliminate socalled crimes of honor can be seen as a starting point for the proposal of ending honor killings. Legal scholar lama abuodeh, in comparing honor crimes and crimes of passion in jordan versus the united states, notes the fallacy of both the orientalist construction that the east is different from the west and the almost contradictory idea of international feminism that all violence against women all over the world is the same.
Jordanian women imprisoned in name of family honour jordan. But, he added, that is the culture of the arab world. The residents of this small town, which is located far west of copenhagen, were. 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. 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. According to the honour related violence european resource book and good practice page 234. Honor killings and the construction of gender in arab societies. 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. 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. In jordan each year, somewhere between 15 and 20 women are murdered in the name of honor. Honor killings rise in palestinian territories, sparking backlash. Oct 31, 2017 jordan has one of the highest rates of honor crimes in the world.
Human rights watch, the international rights watchdog, says there are typically between 15 and 20 crimes of this nature a year. And in countries where laws have been passed to curb honor crime for example, in jordan, such laws often go unenforced. According to a thomson reuters foundation report on womens rights in the arab world, jordan ranked secondworst, after egypt, in the category of honour killings. Valentine moghadam explains the concept of a neopatriarchal society in his book. 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.
Jul 26, 2018 legal scholar lama abuodeh, in comparing honor crimes and crimes of passion in jordan versus the united states, notes the fallacy of both the orientalist construction that the east is different from the west and the almost contradictory idea of international feminism that all violence against women all over the world is the same. Readers interested in learning more about honor crimes in jordan might find the following resources helpful. In jordan, women at risk of honor killings are imprisoned, sometimes indefinitely, to keep perpetrators from committing a violent act against. Jordans parliament has rejected the senates recommendation to uphold a law providing stiffer penalties for men who kill women in socalled honour killings. Further, in this same issue it was reported that in amman, jordan s womens prison, over one fourth of the 190 inmates were incarcerated to protect them from honor crimes. Accordingly, the burden of proof in rape cases before the court and the provision of solving the problem of rape by marring the victim to her rapist among many other violations of womens rights found in the arab states legal systems, such as honor killing, child marriage and martial rape, reveal the level of cultural, social, political. A glimpse of domestic violence in the arab world article in issues in mental health nursing 231. S and those acts called honor crimes in the middle. Santa claus in baghdad and other stories about teens in the. Egypts rise in honor killings sparks regional debate. In jordan, house of safety offers hope and freedom to at.
April 2004 jordan may be one of the most liberal countries in the arab world but women are still murdered for bringing dishonour on the family. In the first book to address the dilemma faced by jordanian women in the workforce, amira elazhary sonbol delineates the constraints chat exist in a number of legal practices, namely penal codes chat permit violence against muslim women and personal status laws that require a husbands permission for a woman to work. Arab women celebrated at london award show arab news. The extreme tradition is practiced in some muslim societies. Mar 03, 2014 honor killings rise in palestinian territories, sparking backlash. In jordan, some two dozen women are killed each year in socalled honor crimes, when a family member murders a female relative to clear the family name of a perceived stigma, such as. In pakistan alone, there are 1,000 honor killings every year. With accompanying notes that provide contextual information, santa claus in baghdad brings a fresh perspective to youth literature about the arab world. Domestic violence and honor crimes becknell, danielle m.
Onethird of the reported homicides in jordan are honor killings. Jordan, which has one of the highest rates of honour killings in the world, has made strides to curb genderrelated crime and boost womens rights. In many countries, the punishment for honor crimes are inadequate or nonexistentlaws either do not recognize honor crime or have insufficient sentencing for such crime. Murder in the name of honour and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. As a countermeasure, jordanian authorities place women and girls who are at risk into protective custody. Jordanian journalist rana husseini on murder in the name of. In some countries, such as jordan, honor killings are either legal or minimally punished. Honor crimes in the united states and offenders neutralization. Honor killings are part of a culture, not a religion, and occur in arab communities in the united states and many countries. The campaign faced difficulties that when corrected can lead to success.
It is actually very disturbing, but there still exists a part of the community where they favor honour killings and believe it to be justified. The report said 10 honour crimes were brought before judges in 2012. Fauss, lindsey sabbagh, amal westminster college sociologyanthropology amman, jordan statement. On october 7, a 36yearold mother of three was reportedly beaten and strangled in her home just east of jordans capital amman, allegedly at the. In 2016, 38 women were victims of honor killings in jordan, a country that generally records 15 to 20 of these crimes annually, according to human rights watch and an article in the guardian. In most countries data on honor killings is not collected systematically, and. But there is a common nefarious defense by perpetrators that links these cases of violence against women in the u. 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. May 29, 20 in 2009, husseini finished writing her book on socalled honour crimes in the world, with special emphasis on jordan. The extreme tradition is practiced in some muslim societies if a woman is accused of bringing shame to her family.
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. In jordan, honor crimes can mean prison time fair observer. Jan 08, 2008 april 2004 jordan may be one of the most liberal countries in the arab world but women are still murdered for bringing dishonour on the family. Jan 01, 2003 in the first book to address the dilemma faced by jordanian women in the workforce, amira elazhary sonbol delineates the constraints chat exist in a number of legal practices, namely penal codes chat permit violence against muslim women and personal status laws that require a husbands permission for a woman to work. The book, in english, arabic and dutch, is entitled murder in the name of. Family violence including crimes of honor in jordan. Honor in the mediterranean world is a code of conduct, a way of life and an ideal of the social order, which defines the lives, the customs and the values of many of the peoples in the mediterranean moral. Why honor killings still plague the hashemite kingdom of jordan in. Oct 27, 2016 on october 7, a 36yearold mother of three was reportedly beaten and strangled in her home just east of jordans capital amman, allegedly at the hands of her exhusband. Jordan journalist and human rights advocate and author of a murder in the name of honour, about socalled honour killings, rana husseini at a press conference at vaclav havel library, prague. Honor killings and the construction of gender in arab societiest.
Rana husseini, i want to thank you for being with us, investigative journalist, activist from jordan, leading advocate against socalled honor killings. The jordanian authorities ways of dealing with honor crimes. Dec 03, 2011 in jordan each year, somewhere between 15 and 20 women are murdered in the name of honor. Author bio elsa marston is the author of many works of fiction and nonfiction, mostly for young adults.
Recorded honor killings on the rise in jordan human. The following are excerpts from a report about honor crimes in jordan and the way the jordanian authorities deal with this phenomenon. See everyday life in the muslim middle east, 16 donna lee. Honor killings claim the lives of around 5, 000 women every year. Further, in this same issue it was reported that in amman, jordans womens prison, over one fourth of the 190 inmates were incarcerated to protect them from honor crimes. And judge algazoo himself opined that a woman who stays out all night with a boyfriend has. This girl is languishing in jail because her family is threatening to kill her after she was assaulted by a. Socialization and modern change sit study abroad, fall 2005. India 4849, jordan 43, pakistan 24 and the arab world 33. The jordanian government, for its part, has called on judges to deal with alleged honor crimes in the same manner as they do for normal murders. Jordan has one of the highest rates of honor crimes in the world. Unfortunately, jordan like some other countries in the middle east and asia has an old tradition of h. Sep 14, 2018 in jordan, some two dozen women are killed each year in socalled honor crimes, when a family member murders a female relative to clear the family name of a perceived stigma, such as. The first factor is the jordanian societys willful ignorance of islamic penal law and the directives of the.
Along with hospitality and couragebravery, it is one of the bedouin aspects of ethics. The locus of crimes of honor in the jordanian penal code no. From kuwait to america, genderbased killings considered less. There are 5,000 honor crimes each year in the world, according to the site, mostly in the middle east and south asia. Produced by abc australia distributed by journeyman. Honor in the mediterranean world is a code of conduct, a way of life and an ideal of the social order, which defines the lives, the customs and the values of many.