Honor Killings

Honor killings refer to the acts of homicide that generally take place in a family or a closed social group. In such cases, a member of a family or any other radical member of an orthodox culture or [Page 658]community kills another member on the charge of bringing dishonor or shame for that familial or social group by any act generally taken as taboo therein. There may be any number of reasons for making a person the victim of honor killing. Generally, these include a love marriage rather than an arranged marriage, free sexual conduct, a woman's entering into a relationship without the consent of the elders, interreligious/intercaste marriage, adultery, being the victim of rape, dressing unconventionally, and a homosexual relationship. Honor killing is culture-oriented and has emerged as a crime of passion.

Since human services aims at providing direct care services for humankind at large, and it is committed to ameliorate human problems, the information on honor killing requires scrutinizing different stakeholders on this practice. Its implication has greater importance in policy making and executing the policies concerned.

Although religions never dictate such practices, the orthodox lobby therein has always cited the scriptures on the act of honor killing. The Napoleonic Code (1804), prepared in the regime of Napoleon Bonaparte, legislated for honor killing. Under the provisions of the code, the punishment for the murder of a wife by her husband in a situation in which he finds her in the act of adultery could never be treated similarly to that of a premeditated murder; rather, the husband would be charged with other lesser offenses. The wife did not have even the right of defense. Napoleonic Code has been a source of legislation in Many countries, and thus for centuries has affected the system in favor of honor killing.

Cases of honor killing have been found in almost all regions of the world; the practice is seen more frequently in the countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Haiti, Syria, Turkey, Yemen, France, Italy, and GerMany, as well as among some communities of the United Kingdom. In these countries, honor killing is a unique form of practice followed by members of various communities despite the forces of modernization, urbanization, and globalization. In a random survey in societies where the practice of honor killing is seen, people argue that it is done in order to save the family from shame and embarrassment. Many times, such deaths are not reported by the family members for obvious reasons. Whatever the argument of the supporters of honor killing, it is quite an unholy tradition that has not only tainted humanity but also human conscious and values. The very basic question that would likely be posed by progenies would be, “What is honorable in honor killing?”

This tradition is surviving on the whims of orthodoxy-ridden power-hungry elders of the culture. Various attempts have been made by social reformers across the globe for doing away with the practice of honor killing, and much has been done in this direction. Some of these efforst include the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which forces the member countries to put a ban on practices such as honor killings. CEDAW General Recommendation 19 states that “traditional attitudes by which women are regarded as subordinate to men or as having stereotyped roles perpetuate widespread practices involving violence or coercion, such as family violence and abuse, forced marriage, dowry deaths, acid attacks and female circumcision. Such prejudices and practices may justify gender-based violence as a form of protection or control of women. The effect of such violence on the physical and mental integrity of women is to deprive them the equal enjoyment, exercise and knowledge of human rights and fundamental freedoms.” The UN General Assembly Resolution working toward the elimination of crimes against women and girls committed in the name of honor is another international effort designed to curb the practice of honor killing. It calls upon the UN member states to do the

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