Honor Killing: Violence in the Name of Protection

“Hello there! I’m here to provide you with a bit of information on what honor killing is, its various facets, and the Indian laws relevant to this abuse. What you, as a survivor, are experiencing post confronting a traumatic experience is normal. What you, as a bystander, are going through while supporting a survivor is absolutely okay and typical too!  If you need additional resources or just someone to talk to, feel free to reach out to The Neeti Project."

Written by: Arya Sambaragimath

What is Honor Killing? 

Honor killing is a type of murder where the motive of the crime is rooted mainly in protecting the honor of the victim’s family. Historically victims of honor killing are primarily women; especially in MENA (Middle East and North Africa) regions. Honor killing also occurs in parts of South Asia (primarily India, and Pakistan) and occasionally in the west in countries such as Greece and Italy (Doğan, 2011, p.423).

The "Honor" in Honor Killing: 

It becomes important to understand the meaning of the term honor. Defining the term “honor” also happens to be the most controversial area with regards to honor killing. Most researchers tend to agree on the fact that honor is largely related to religion (Doğan, 2011). In regions and communities where honor killing is practiced, honor takes a central role in the lives of people. Honor killing is often justified using religious texts. A significant number of differences exist in the interpretation of religious texts.

Examples of this can be seen across various communities in MENA as well as South Asian countries. A point to note is that not all communities of a certain religious background or region engage in honor killing, only those that regard honor at the highest level of social life. These communities are often referred to as honor communities in sociological and anthropological research. Some honor region practice honor killing because of their interpretation of religious texts. Religious texts act as a guide usually prescribe commandments for followers.

 
Often the actual writing within texts overlooked in the name of interpretations (Doğan, 2011, p428), which lead to the evolution of reasons for committing honor killings. Given that this is all interpretation, what is “honor” in one region may not be in another. Furthermore, not all actions that are said to bring dishonor to a family call for violence or honor killing. Some actions may simply be considered shameful and slightly dishonoring, but the woman is not punished, there are however other consequences for these actions.

How is Honor Killing Different from Other Violations? 

A few characteristics differentiate honor killing from most other gender-based acts of violence and other crimes:  

1. Honor killing is largely a collective crime, in most cases the murder is planned and committed by a group of people usually belonging to the family or the community of the victim. Members of the family collude, and the killing is planned beforehand. 
2. Honor killings are committed when the victim has engaged in activities that are considered to dishonor their family. A way of thinking put forth by some is that the dishonor that the victim’s actions would bring the family would affect the family worse than the murder itself. 
3. Honor killings are planned by male members of the family. This however does not imply that they are committed by male members. In some cases, the actual killing is done by a male child or a woman to ensure minimum legal consequences (AUCN, 2013).

Who Are the Main Victims of Honor Killing? 

• A large majority of honor killing victims are women. 
• 93% of honor killing victims are women, and the mean age of honor killing victims is 23. This number is not surprising given that the primary motive of honor killing is unapproved relationships, and disagreements regarding marriage. 
• Research also finds two distinct general populations of female victims, one group around the age of 17, and the other group around the age of 36. 
• Half of the victims of honor killing are either daughter of sisters of the perpetrator (Helba et al., 2014). 

What Are Some Common Causes of Honor Killing? 

Listed below are some of the most common causes for honor related violence (Hosseini & Basavaraju, 2015, p.91). As mentioned earlier the likeliness of each of the following activities leading to murder in the name of honor depends largely on the region where it occurs as well as the religious background of the family.

●       Inappropriate dressing, dressing in a manner that goes against a community’s social norms or religious doctrines

●       Having sexual or romantic relationships that are not approved by the family

●       Disagreeing to get married to a person of the family’s choice, some communities choose partners for marriage for individuals. Disagreeing to get married to the family’s choice can result in honor related violence

●       Engaging in homosexual relationships, homosexual relationships despite being legal in some countries, are looked down upon by numerous communities and engaging in homosexual relationships can be motive for honor killing

●       Engaging in pre-marital sexual activities

●       Seeking a divorce, it is common for communities to not permit a woman from seeking a divorce from her partner as the act of seeking a divorce is seen as an insult to the partner’s family

●       Adultery, engaging in extramarital activities is often grounds for honor related violence

What Are Some Factors that Affect the Occurrence of Honor Killing?

An important factor that tends to affect the occurrence of honor killing is fast paced modernization. Modernization is characterized by evolving social and cultural conditions as well as improving household incomes. A likely result of this is social stratification decreasing and social classes being pushed closer. Researchers claim that this is likely to increase violent crimes committed in the name of honor (Dayan, 2019, p.4-13). This happens because families find that the only way to differentiate themselves from other families in communities is by preserving family honor. 

Changing social conditions also make the already unclear definition of “honor” even more subjective. Women then become unaware of actions that are likely to lead to violence or killing by their family (Dayan, 2019, p.4).

Income Levels and Honor Killing: 

Researchers have also looked at correlations between average household incomes within a community and the prevalence of honor killings within the community. Though this is an area with relatively new findings which are still unable to provide concrete evidence, there seem to be trends that suggest that killing to protect the honor of a family is more prevalent in families with low social and economic status (Dayan, 2019). Though honor killings are not unheard of among communities with high income levels, they are more frequent within communities with lower average incomes.

How Can I Seek Help & Justice for Honor Killing? 

• In India, honor crimes are prosecuted under the same sections of the penal code as murder and attempted murder. 
• Murders in the name of honor are considered as crimes under section 300 of the Indian Penal Code. Culpable homicide that does not amount to murder are dealt with sections 299 and 301 of the Indian Penal Code. 
• There is clear intention to kill the individual in cases of honor killing, hence they violate sections 299-301 of the IPC (Hosseini & Basavaraju, 2015, p.91-92). 
• Another characteristic of honor crimes in India is the presence of Khap Panchayats. Khap panchayats are unofficial nongovernmental bodies composed of mostly male members from a single Clan or community. (Anand, 2021). Khap Panchayats can also be booked under the IPC for involvement in honor crimes.

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References

ACUNS. (n.d.). Femicide vol. I: A global issue that demands action - unsa Vienna. ACUNS . Retrieved July 25, 2022, from https://www.unsavienna.org/index.php/en/cases/femicide-vol-i-global-issue-demands-action

Dayan, H. (2019). Female honor killing: The role of low socio-economic status and rapid modernization. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(19-20). https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260519872984

Dorjee, T., Baig, N., & Ting-Toomey, S. (2013). A social ecological perspective on understanding “honor killing”: An intercultural moral dilemma. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 42(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2012.723024

Doğan, R. (2011). Is honor killing a “Muslim phenomenon”? textual interpretations and cultural representations. Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, 31(3), 423–440. https://doi.org/10.1080/13602004.2011.599547

Helba, C., Bernstein, M., & Leonard, M. (2014, November 26). Report on exploratory study into Honor violence measurement methods. Report on Exploratory Study into Honor Violence Measurement Methods. Retrieved July 29, 2022, from https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/bjs/grants/248879.pdf

Hosseini, S. B., & Basavaraju, C. (2015, January). Study on honor killing as a crime in India-cause and solutions. Retrieved July 25, 2022, from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Seied-Hosseini/publication/306091212_Study_on_Honor_Killing_as_a_Crime_in_India-Cause_and_Solutions/links/57af4c9208aeb2cf17c268f0/Study-on-Honor-Killing-as-a-Crime-in-India-Cause-and-Solutions.pdf?origin=publication_detail

Printline Media. (2021, March 3). Khap panchayats - the role & history of complex social institution in Haryana & Western up . ThePrint. Retrieved July 25, 2022, from https://theprint.in/india/khap-panchayats-the-role-history-of-complex-social-institution-in-haryana-western-up/613988/