THE HONOR KILLING OF WOMEN AND GIRLS

Honor killing and honor crime involve violence against women and girls, including such acts as beating, battering, or killing, by a family member or  relative. The attacks are provoked by the belief or perception that an individual’s or family’s honor has been threatened  because of the actual or perceived sexual misconduct of the female. Honor killings are most common in traditional societies in the Middle East, Southwest Asia,  India, China, and Latin America. Honor killing of a woman or girl by her father, brother, or other male relative may occur because of a suspicion that she engaged in sexual activities before or outside marriage and thus has dishonored the family. Even when rape of a woman or girl has occurred this may be seen as violation of the honor of the family for which the female must be killed. Wives’ adultery and daughters’ premarital “sexual activity,” including rape, are seen as extreme violations of the codes of behavior and thus may result in the death of the female through this so-called “honor” killing. Honor  killing/crime is based on the shame that a loss of control of the woman or girl brings to the family and to the male heads of the family. According to  criminologist Linda Williams, men consider honor killings culturally necessary, because any suspicion of sexual activity or suspicion that a girl or a woman was touched by another in a sexual manner is enough to raise questions about the family’s honor. Consequently, strict control of women and girls within the home and outside the home is justifi ed. Women are restricted in their activities in the community, religion, and politics. These institutions, in turn, support the control of females. Williams believes that the existence of honor killing is designed for maintaining male dominance. Submissiveness may be seen as a sign of sexual purity and a woman’s or girl’s attempts to assert her rights can
be seen as a violation of the family’s honor that needs to be redressed. Rules of honor and threats against females who “violate” such rules reinforce the control of women and have a powerful impact on their lives. Honor killings/crimes serve to keep women and girls from “stepping out of line.” The manner in which such behaviors silence women and kill their spirit has led some to label honor killings/crimes more broadly as “femicide.”


Sources: Linda M. Williams, “Honor Killings,” in  Encyclopedia of Interpersonal Violence, eds. Claire M. Renzetti and Jeffrey I. Edelson (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2007); Dan Bilefsky, “How to Avoid Honor Killing in Turkey? Honor S uicide,” New York Times, 16 July 2006, p. 3; Nadera  Shalhoub-Kevorkian,