I woke up to a pouring rain this morning. The minute I had my coffee ready, I sat down with my computer to start up my blog again. The topic for this morning? They book I finished a few weeks ago: Murder in the Name of Honor, by Rana Husseini. To keep these little ramblings short and sweet, I will install long ones into two parts.
While in Jordan, I had the chance to meet internationally known journalist Rana for her ideas about my thesis and the status of honor killings in Jordan. I made no indication that those ideas would be published, so I won't share them. Needless to say, she assured me the importance of Khouri's book in the movement and its continuing negative impact in Jordan. Ergo, my thesis isn't a total waste of time.
Her book is an impressive one. It addresses the status of the anti-honor killing movement in Jordan and their struggles in snuffing out the problem. Although I found her book interesting and informative, its tone is extremely hyper-emotional. This is understandable-this is an emotional topic. And as a journalist who reported on honor killings as a living, Rana has every right to be upset. This often distracted me from her major message. As an academic, I did not like this aspect. But as someone trying to learn about the conflict at a basic level, I enjoyed it. I recommend it to anyone who is just starting to learn about honor killings (thus, I review it first off).
Rana begins the book by placing us in the context:
“Imagine your sister or daughter being killed for chewing gum, for laughing at a joke in the street, for wearing make-up or a short skirt, for choosing her own boyfriend/husband and becoming pregnant.” (xi)
For those who have a daughter, your daughter has most likely done some of these things. If you are someone's daughter, you probably have done the same. According to Jordanian police, about 25 women a year are killed through these type of honor killings. An honor killing is where a woman in the family has tarnished their reputation and must be "cleansed" to preserve honor. It is a mode of control-over a woman's sexuality, over choices in love, and over her movement. Even rape is considered punishable by honor killing.
Rana is a journalist in Amman, with a focus on crime. When she started reporting on these crimes, she received an onslaught of criticism from her readers for writing about this non-problem. Others told her she was wasting her time, considering their culture stagnant.
To her credit, Rana doesn't only represent the obvious victims of this culture, but the silent suppressed: the murderers. Now, obviously, they are not sympathetic characters initially. But the social pressure from parents and community to do the "honor" creates a Catch-22. Either way, your sister/daughter/cousin will die, you just won't be the one to do it. This killer that will be quoted below saw his sister die by his hand and then his life destroyed.
“I took the stand and told the judges that I had to kill my sister, because if I did not kill her, it would have been like killing more than a thousand men from my tribe.”
“No one wants to be the one to kill his sister, but traditions and society inflict things on us that we really do not want to do. If society would not have shunned us after her rape, we would not have killed her and instead locked her inside the house until she died or someone married her.”
True, it is hard to sympathize him as a westerner. We see the opportunities of free choice, to run away, ect. This just simply isn't an option. Especially when the legal punishment is not severe.
In her various court visits, she finds that Jordanian law grants leniency to these killers. The law states that those who murder in a "passionate frenzy" are granted leniency. Article 340 and 98 are two constitutional articles that preserve the rights of murderers. 98 allows a killer a reduced sentence if he kills someone in "a fit of frenzy." 340 allows a person to kill or injure another if they are involved in adulterous situation.
Rana, along with other prominent international actors and locals, started a campaign to target article 340. In my next post, I will elaborate more on this campaign, how it ended, and how Khouri played a role in its failure.
Much love,
Liz
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