What is an Honor Killing?
An honor killing is the homicide of a member of a family by other members, due to the perpetrators belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonor upon the family, or has violated the principles of a community or a religion, usually for reasons such as refusing to enter an arranged marriage, being in a relationship that is disapproved by their family, having sex outside marriage, becoming a victim of rape, dressing in ways which are deemed inappropriate, or engaging in homosexual relations. Typically, women are the victims of honor killings however, men can be the victims as well.
When a family decides to commit an honor killing many members of the extended family plan the act together, sometimes through a formal family council. Typically, honor killings are done in order to control women’s behavior, especially behavior regarding sexuality and male interaction. Families usually commit honor killings to save their reputation within the community and wean off any stigma associated with the family member who committed a dishonorable act.
Facts on Honor Killings:
- Typically women are the victims of honor killings
- Each year 5,000 honor killings are reported around the world
- Many honor killings go unreported
- It is estimated that 20,000 women are honor killed each year
- Honor killings might involve acts of torture and physical abuse
- The average age of honor killing victims is between 15-25
- Honor killings commonly occur in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and India
- Most of the honor killings that happen in the US and Europe occur within the immigrant population
- In the Arab world, Jordan, Lebanon, OPT, Egypt, and Iraq have the highest number of reported cases, according to the Arab Human Development report 2009
Honor Killings in Syria
The Syrian Women Observatory [SWO] has stated that between 200 and 300 honor killings are committed in Syria every year, the majority of which occur in rural and Bedouin communities. The SWO stated that half of the annual murder cases committed in Syria are in fact cases of honor killing.
Interestingly enough until 2009, Article 548 of the Syrian Legal Code stated: “1: He who catches his wife, or one of his ascendants, descendants or sister committing adultery (flagrante delicto) or illegitimate sex acts with another and he kills or injures one of both of them benefits from an exemption of penalty. 2: He who catches his wife, or one of his ascendants, descendants or sister in a suspicious state (attitude equivoce) with another and he kills or injures one of both of them benefits from an exemption of penalty.” However, on June 1st 2009, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad replaced this article with one that stated “He who catches his wife, sister, mother, or daughter by surprise, engaging in an illegitimate sexual act and kills or injures them unintentionally must serve a minimum of two years in prison.” Therefore, as pathetic as this is, President Assad has made some action towards “harshening” the punishment for an honor killing however, two years in jail isn’t nearly long enough. Essentially, this article permits men to kill women and get off with extremely light sentences.
Examples of Honor Killings in Syria
Below are real life stories told from reporters about honor killings in Syria.
(Lina Sinjab, BBC News, October 12, 2007)
“Seventeen-year-old Bushra is too scared to give her real name. She talks in a low, trembling voice, her face full of fear.
“They want to shed my blood, they want to kill me,” she says, as she recounts how she escaped being murdered by members of her own family in a so-called “honour killing”.
A Sunni Muslim, she had fallen in love with Fadel, from Syria’s Alawite Muslim minority. He went to her family to ask for her hand in marriage, but he was rejected.
The family said Bushra must marry her cousin. But on their wedding day, she ran away with the man she loved and family members began to hunt her down, to “erase the dishonour” she had caused.
Bushra’s story is not an exceptional one in Syria, where women’s organizations estimate more than 200 women are murdered every year by brothers, cousins or fathers.
But she is one of the lucky ones. Bushra was arrested after her family reported her to the police, and taken into custody.
The juvenile center where now lives give her some protection, but her freedom of movement is severely limited.”
(Ricky, International Campaign Against Honour Killings, January 21, 2007)
“A new awful crime happened in a village 20 km from Idleb in Syria, where a 16-year-old girl was murdered by her brother, who shot her after he has discovered that she was six months pregnant. Sheren was a very beautiful girl and fell in love with a man named Ghassan who was 45 years old, married and a father to 9 kids). They had a love relationship for more than a year. After her parents took her to a doctor and confirmed that Sheren was pregnant her brother shot her immediately.”
(SKSW, May 2007)
“Sahar was 14 years old when she was married to a man, who was suffering from an illness which was believed to have rendered him infertile. He decided to undergo treatment and a surgical intervention, during which time Sahar became pregnant. Such a miracle would seem cause for celebration, yet Sahar’s relatives reacted only with suspicion. After persuading her husband that the child could not be his, and must have been conceived as the result of an extra-marital affair, Sahar was tried before the courts for “illicit relations”.
Medical experts testified that in the end Sahar’s husband was indeed fertile and DNA tests confirmed the child was his. The judge, however, believing that Sahar’s relatives would not be convinced even with this scientific evidence, placed her under the guard of an Alip – women`s shelter.
While in the shelter, Sahar received a visit from her brother-in-law, who convinced her that his family had been persuaded and truly believed her innocent. He asked her to come and live with him, offering guarantees that neither he nor anyone else would harm her. On May 24, this same brother-in-law fired three shots into her chest, killing her.”
Conclusion
As I stated previously, it is estimated that 200-300 honor killings happen in Syria each year. With that being said, stories such as these happen far too often. Overall, Syria has extremely lenient Honor Killing laws and men often go unpunished. In recent times, the Human Rights Watch and other organizations such as the Honour Based Violence Awareness Network (HBVAN) have been working to protect women’s rights and reduce the rate of honor killings within Syria and around the world. With that being said, many movements have started which are working towards holding men more accountable however, there is still a long way to go before honor killings are significantly diminished and women are protected in Syria and other countries in the Middle East.
If you are interested in learning more about honor killings in Syria there is another article written by The New York Times that tells a very sad story about a honor killing of a young girl committed by her older brother which is also an interesting read.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/23/magazine/23wwln-syria-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Work Cited:
syriapagebypaige 
Wow! 5,000 recorded honor killings is far more than I expected, not to mention the estimated 15,000 others that don’t go reported. I’m astonished at those high figures. I noticed that the policy concerning honor killings was similar in my blog country, Iran, (1940s through 1970s, although the law has now changed). I know from my own research that honor killings are not an Islamic practice and have even been condemned by Islamic leaders and scholars, but it begs the question: why is it common place in majority Islamic countries?
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I liked your blog. I like how you gave information on the laws in Syria against honor killings. Two years is actually a long time compared to other countries. It was also interesting to read about the women in Syrian who died.
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didn’t the punishment stipulated in Article 548 change from 2years of imprisonment to 5 to 7 years of imprisonment in 2009?
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Holding “men” more accountable? Why not hold entire families accountable? This article goes on to state that “when a family decides to commit an honor killing, many members of the extended family plan the act together.” This includes women in those families, too.
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