what are honor killings course heroanthropology

by Guillermo Langosh 5 min read

Honor killings have been defined as the homicide of a family member, typically a woman, due to the belief that the victim has brought dishonor or shame to the family.Sep 17, 2013

What are honor killings?

1) What is the purpose of honor killing? The goal of an honor killing is to keep a person's honor. The honor killing is being investigated by a representative of the offended party. In many disadvantaged and developing societies around the world, the concept of honor is misunderstood. Many sections of Africa, the Middle East, India, and other less well-known …

What is the most extreme form of Honor violence?

( Chesler , P. 2009 ) . Honor killing is about teaching other girls and women how females “ should ” behave . Honor killings do share some similarities with other types of interpersonal crimes . The main similarity would be the use of control as every type of interpersonal crime usually involves some form of control .

What is an honor crime?

But the most extreme form of honor violence is honor killing — the murder of girls and women by their own mothers, fathers, and brothers. Both immediate and extended family members, seeking to reclaim their honor, are frequently involved in the killings.

Can I use my fellow student's research paper on honor killings?

An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of themselves or their family. Honor killings are often connected to religion, caste and other forms of hierarchical social stratification, or to …

What is honor killing?

Honor killing is an old practice that was performed to cleanse the community or family from any activity that was perceived to be evil. This practice is usually gender based and targets members of a particular sex depending on the society and offense committed. Therefore, honor killings refer to the exercises of executing members ...

What are traditional societies?

Traditional societies usually observe cultural and religious beliefs in executing individuals that have committed mistakes (Fritsch 2010). On the other hand, modern societies apply legal and political perceptions in terminating the lives of people perceived to have breached the societal regulations.

How was the traditional society governed?

The society was controlled by a set of taboos and regulations that ensured members behaved in accordance with the expectations of their traditions. Village elders played significant roles in determining the fate of criminal activities and other communal events (Kudyba 2010). It is important to explain that a traditional society is governed by beliefs in the existence of superior beings and ancestors who are believed to be living even though they died a long time ago.

What does it mean to be a religious?

This means that their members must follow their teachings to ensure they keep their hearts and bodies clean by avoiding all activities that may make them violate these regulations. Christians believe that they must follow the Bible teachings while Muslims should follow the guidelines contained in the Quran.

What is the meaning of honor killing?

Expressing sexuality, having contact or engaging in sexual activity with the opposite sex (including rape), choosing one’s own spouse, rejecting an arranged marriage, fleeing a forced marriage, wanting to leave a marriage — all allegedly bring shame and dishonor to one’s family. Men are also victims of honor killings.

Where are honor killings reported?

Honor killings have been reported not only in the UK and the US, but also in Sweden, Germany, France, Italy, Turkey, and Uganda.

What is honor based violence?

Honor-based violence is violence, plain and simple. But it is violence perpetrated with the goal of restoring or protecting the honor of oneself, family, or community. Due to social norms that devalue women as individuals and human beings, honor violence is mostly — though not exclusively — committed against women and girls.

Why do women seek help?

In many instances, if a girl or woman seeks help because she fears for her life, she may find safety with her family; this is particularly true for children.

How many women are murdered in the name of honor?

It’s estimated that 5,000 women are murdered globally each year in the name of honor. In India, approximately 1,000 women are victims of honor killings every year. In Pakistan, which bears the brunt of international criticism, that figure is closer to 1,100 — the victims were commonly shot or attacked with acid.

Is honor based violence a religion?

The concept of “honor” in this context is closely tied to virginity, fidelity, and modesty — which are considered virtues in some religions. But “honor”-based violence has no basis in religion.

Why are honour killings so hard to obtain?

Reliable figures of honour killings are hard to obtain, in large part because "honour" is either improperly defined or is defined in ways other than in Article 12 of the UDHR (block-quoted above) without a clear follow-up explanation. As a result, criteria are hardly ever given for objectively determining whether a given case is an instance of honour killing. Because of the lack of both a clear definition of "honour" and coherent criteria, it is often presupposed that more women than men are victims of honor killings, and victim counts often contain women exclusively. Research in Pakistan and Turkey suggests that men and women each account for roughly 50% of victims.

Where are honor killings most common?

Honor killings have been reported in northern regions of India, mainly in the Indian states of Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The main reason for these crimes is a result of people marrying without their family's acceptance, especially when it is between members of two different castes or religious groups, or, more particular to northwestern India, between members of the same gotra, or exogamous clan. In contrast, honor killings are less prevalent but are not completely non-existent the western Indian states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Honor killings are reflected in nationwide data from the National Crime Records Bureau. That data showed 251 honor killings in 2015, though activists considered that a significant undercount. The same records bureau reported only 24 honor killings in 2019. According to a survey by AIDWA, over 30 percent of honor killings in the country take place in Western Uttar Pradesh. In some other parts of India, notably West Bengal, honor killings completely ceased about a century ago, largely due to the activism and influence of reformists such as Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, Vidyasagar and Raja Ram Mohan Roy.

What is the meaning of honor killing?

An honor killing ( American English ), honour killing ( Commonwealth English ), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honour of their family. Religion is often a motive, and those killed will often be more liberal than ...

How many women are murdered in the world each year?

The UN estimates that 5,000 women and girls are murdered each year in honor killings, which are widely reported in the Middle East and South Asia, but they occur in countries as varied as Brazil, Canada, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Egypt, Sweden, Syria, Uganda, United Kingdom, the United States, and other countries.

When was the first honor killing in Finland?

The first case of an honor killing in Finland happened in 2015 when an Iraqi man was sentenced to two years in prison for planning to murder his 16-year-old sister. He was also sentenced for assault. He and their mother had forbidden his sister from meeting people her own age and leaving the home beyond going to school.

Who said honor killings were encouraged in ancient Rome?

Matthew A. Goldstein, J.D. (Arizona), has noted that honor killings were encouraged in ancient Rome, where male family members who did not take action against the female adulterers in their families were "actively persecuted".

Why are minor girls and boys selected as the killers?

Often, minor girls and boys are selected by the family to act as the killers, so that the killer may benefit from the most favorable legal outcome. Boys and sometimes women in the family are often asked to closely control and monitor the behavior of their sisters or other females in the family, to ensure that the females do not do anything to tarnish the 'honor' and 'reputation' of the family. The boys are often asked to carry out the murder, and if they refuse, they may face serious repercussions from the family and community for failing to perform their "duty".

What does it mean to lose your honor?

To lose your honor is to lose this protective shield, without which you are naked in a world full of thorns and thistles. Having honor, in contrast, confers social status, which can yield economic and social opportunities, including access to high-quality mates.

What is inclusive fitness?

Evolutionary theorists a generation ago explained that the principle of “inclusive fitness” meant that an organism’s fitness is not limited to just its own reproductive success, but extends to that of its genetic relatives, especially its siblings and offspring, with whom it shares the most genetic material.

What is honour killing?

Honour killing is seen as a dirty behaviour by the member of the family thinking to bring purity to the family. It is an act of murder by the family on the family members to bring honour to the family to eradicate the shame and dishonour brought by the family member. The male member of the family kills the female member who has violated the wishes and honour of the family. This is a kind of pre-planned murder by the members of the family against the member who had bought shame to the family. Mostly these acts are caused due to trigger done by the relatives, society, neighbours by whom the accused feels dishonoured and gets provoked. Mostly these occur against the female who are assumed for sexual and marital offences. In situation where the members should be a support for the female are against them and brings a situation where they should not exist. India is a democratic country as every citizen has their rights and freedom to do acts which does not violate law. In a society where the citizens are equal without any discrimination, honour killing brings discrimination where the family member is considered to bring dishonour by choosing a person of a different caste.(Keane 2016) Caste and status are the main reasons for honour killing in the present world as the caste and status changes for a girl when she goes to her husband house. The aim of the study is to know about honour killing and to bring out the seriousness of the crime and to educate the society about its effects and to analyze the triggers of honour killing.

Is honour killing a gender?

Honour killing is not constrained to one gender. Men are also brought as a victim of honour killing. It is inappropriate that the victim is a man or a woman, if they had violated or brought down the name of the family, they are subjected to be killed by the members of the family. However, honour killing are focused on the women, it is not restricted so. It extends to men too. When the men violate the customs, the family members of the women or the male family members tend to join hands to kill him. For the execution of honour killing, the role of male is more. In case to commit the crime, the male descendants of the family form a group to kill the victim and especially if the victim is a girl, the male members would kill the victim. It does not matter about how close and love they had on the victim, they kill the victim if they cross the limits of the family. In certain cases, women also play a part in commission of honour killing. They join hands with the male descendants in executing the crime. They play a role in ensuring the limits of sexual regulations and plan to kill the victim, if the victim is her daughter. However, male are also victims of the crime, the female are been affected a lot as the allegations and comments by the society would be more rigorous in case of the women which would trigger the family of the women causing them to commit the crime. In certain cases, the male and the female would be killed without any love. This crime is also considered as merciless crime as they kill the member of the family without any

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Introduction

Definition

  • Honor killing is an old practice that was performed to cleanse the community or family from any activity that was perceived to be evil. This practice is usually gender based and targets members of a p...
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Background

  • Honor killings originate from traditional and religious practices that have strong beliefs on morals. These teachings and beliefs expect their members to follow their guidelines strictly and to show conformity to their requirements regardless of other issues (Fritsch 2010). This practice originated from these teachings that have very strict rules regarding sexuality, morality and dece…
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Considerations

  • Honor killings are usually motivated by four key issues that determine the behavior of individuals in a society. Traditional societies usually observe cultural and religious beliefs in executing individuals that have committed mistakes (Fritsch 2010). On the other hand, modern societies apply legal and political perceptions in terminating the lives of people perceived to have breache…
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Culture

  • The society was controlled by a set of taboos and regulations that ensured members behaved in accordance with the expectations of their traditions. Village elders played significant roles in determining the fate of criminal activities and other communal events (Kudyba 2010). It is important to explain that a traditional society is governed by beliefs in the existence of superior …
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Religion

  • Religious teachings advocate for purity of the heart and body. This means that their members must follow their teachings to ensure they keep their hearts and bodies clean by avoiding all activities that may make them violate these regulations. Christians believe that they must follow the Bible teachings while Muslims should follow the guidelines contained in the Quran. Both tea…
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Politics and Law

  • Most communities have adopted modern ways of allocating resources to various regions and this has also affected some cultural practices. There is a close link between politics and law since the former plays a significant role in shaping policies that guide the behavior of people within a boundary (Drano 2002). When members of parliament fail to establish laws that will govern hon…
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Recommendations

  • There should be strict laws to ensure honor killings are eliminated in all societies. Even though, societies have the right to have different practices this should not be allowed to exceed beyond the respect for human rights. Therefore, there should be limits that guide the freedom of exercising various traditional practices. Secondly, there should be procedures for investigating s…
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Opinion

  • Honor killings are barbaric and outdated practices since they violate human rights by denying people opportunities to prove their innocence. In addition, it denies people the opportunity to correct their mistakes since they are executed once they are suspected of committing crimes. Therefore, this exercise should be stopped and condemned by everybody.
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Conclusion

  • People have evolved from primitive practices to modern civilized ones that respect human rights and the value of all people regardless of their sex, age or race. However, some practices continue to thrive under the cover of culture and traditions and this means that some people continue to suffer social injustice when this should have stopped a long time.
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