Shameful Killings for Dishonorable Actions

York University

Shameful Killings for "Dishonourable" Actions

Rida Ahsan

SOSC 1710 – People in Society

Professor Battershill

30th March, 2015

Shameful Killings for "Dishonourable" Actions

According to the UDHR Article 3, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of the person” (UN, 1948). However, this article is neglected in many countries by taking away the rights of young children and women. The women who have tried to fight for such rights have become victims of honour killings. Honour killings can be defined as the killing of a woman or man by his or her family members or community for participating (or rumoured to have participated) in an act that may be considered unacceptable in their culture. The victims of honour killings are usually women, mostly women who were killed by either a father, brother, or uncle, because an honour code was believed to have been broken (Meeto & Mirza, 2007: 187).

Honour killings are widely believed to be taken place in countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, Jordan, etc. Although, honour killings have greatly increased in Western countries like the United States of America, Canada and England, they are perceived to be surrounded by communities and cultures of South Asian descent. That is, honour killings are believed to be a part of South Asian culture. However, in this essay, I will talk about how the term ‘honour killings’ is racialized and being used to discriminate against different ethnicities and religion, of which the majority of the victims belong to. Even though, honour killings are used by men in Western countries to receive lenient charges against killing a sister, spouse, or partner (Meeto & Mirza, 2007: 190). In this essay, I would like to assert the differences and similarities between the term domestic violence and honour-based violence. This essay will further focus on how social class and society effects a person’s mindset on these concepts. I would be speaking on how education and literacy rate is an important factor behind the reason why honour killings occur to this day. Honour killings should be prevented through laws, however, many countries are unable to because of larger problems.

First of all, I would like to speak on how different religions have different gender roles, which in turn influences our thinking and beliefs of honour killings. Firstly, in Hinduism, women have a superior role and are considered equals to men (Ramarajan, 2008: 152). Education is considered a really important part of a girl’s life, as well. However, people moved on within the Hindu faith and started adopting different cultures. Social cultures led to an increase in child marriages and, thusly, misinterpretations of the scripture also led to wrong beliefs about the Hindu faith. Therefore, such changes in the culture led to deterioration of equality between men and women, and the superiority of women, itself.