The News Coverage of Honour Killings in Canadian Newspapers

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The News Coverage of Honour Killings in Canadian Newspapers The News Coverage of Honour Killings in Canadian Newspapers By Negin Vatandoost A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in The Faculty of Social Science and Humanities Criminology University of Ontario Institute of Technology May 2012 © Negin Vatandoost, 2012 Abstract The issue of honour killings has become a prominent topic of discussion in the Western discourse of violence against immigrant women. In Canada, particularly, the recent high-profile cases of honour killings have drawn increased attention from the media, academics and the public. The prevalent discussion links these murders to the broader issues of immigration, multiculturalism, and violence against immigrant women. In this thesis, I examine the nature of honour killings, their components, and the discourse of honour killings in its Canadian context. In doing so, I conduct a textual analysis of the representation of three recent honour killings in two major Canadian newspapers; The Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail. Results suggest that honour killings touched a nerve in Canadian media leading to the use of culturalist approaches to understand and represent these killings. This culturalist approach to the debate created serious obstacles for clarifying or explaining this form of violence against women. It further hindered any constructive public debate about ending these killings. The consequences of the culturalist approach to honour killings as well as recommendations for future research and theoretical developments in this area of violence against women are suggested. Key words: honour, honour killings, media, violence against immigrant women, culture, Islam ii This thesis is dedicated to the memory of Dua Khalil Asvad, a 17 year-old Kurdish girl who murdered in front of hundreds of men for falling in love with a boy, a murder that is named ‗honour killing‘. It is written in solidarity with those who think and work against violence, all over the world. iii Acknowledgments I owe my most sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Nawal Ammar. Thank you for being a wonderful and enthusiastic supervisor. Your role was central to selecting my area of research, conducting this study, and in shaping how I think and where I am today. Your leadership, attention to details, and hard work have set an example which I hope to match someday. I am truly grateful for the time you spent in discussing the subject matter with me, bringing new questions, and reading and editing my work. I will miss our meetings when I used to come out having your words in my mind ―I am sure you can do this‖. Nothing has been more encouraging than your faith in my abilities. It is difficult to overstate my gratitude to my committee members Dr. Shahid Alvi and Dr. Arshia Zaidi. Dr. Alvi, thank you for being a great intellectual mentor over the course of my studies at UOIT. Your knowledge, intellectuality, and constant support from my early Master‘s days to its final stages have been valuable sources of learning for which I am truly grateful. Dr. Zaidi, I thank you for your guidance, mentorship, and above all for your encouragement and support during the times of anxiety and doubt. You gave me the warmth of a support when I had the most difficult times of my life. Thank you for making me feel that UOIT is my home. I would like to thank Dr. Aziz Douai for being my external examiner. Your feedback in the final stages of this thesis is invaluable. I also thank the staff of the Faculty of Social Sciences for making my life as an international student easier by their support whenever I needed one. I am indebted to my friends at the Master‘s program of criminology for creating a lively environment of learning. I owe special thanks to Amanda Couture for being a brilliant friend from the early stages and when I had the most difficult times to study. I thank you for providing the lighter moments during the times of stress. I am also truly indebted to Alana Saulnier for being a wonderful friend and companion in the past two years. Our friendship is what that I take with me from my life in Oshawa. I am grateful to my parents, gone but not forgotten, for instilling in me the hope and enthusiasm to follow my dreams. You will remain the compass of my life. My appreciation is also for my siblings for teaching me, supporting me, and loving me in all the years. Despite the distance between you and me, you were always nearby. My lovely nieces; Sarah, Honia, and Haneh, thank you for always knowing how to put a smile on my face and being the source of my joy and inspiration. My gratitude and love is for my best friend, Fahim who stood by me through the good and bad times. I cannot thank you enough for your patience and companionship in the most stressful times. You inspired, supported, understood, and loved me at every moment and for this I am truly grateful. iv Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1: Literature Review ..................................................................................... 8 1.1 Definition of Honour Killings .............................................................................. 8 1.2 The Concept of Honour.................................................................................... 9 1.2.1 Honour as a Term ...................................................................................... 9 1.2.2 Honour and the Masculine/Feminine Divide .......................................... 10 1.2.3 Losability of Honour: The Concept of Shame ........................................ 12 1.2.4 The Role of Reputation within Community ............................................ 14 1.2.5 Honour Codes as Means of Social Control ............................................. 15 1.3 Honour Killings, Origin and Components ..................................................... 16 1.3.1 Honour killings; Origin and the World-Wide Practice ........................... 16 1.3.2 Components of Honour Killings ............................................................. 18 1.4 State Interventions in Honour Codes ............................................................. 20 1.5 Honour Killings in the Immigration Context ................................................. 23 1.6 Honour Killings in the Media ........................................................................ 27 1.7 Punishment and Prevention of Honour Killings ............................................ 30 1.8 Significance of the Current Study .................................................................. 32 Chapter 2: Methods .................................................................................................. 35 2.1 Textual Analysis ............................................................................................ 36 2.2 Studying the Media ........................................................................................ 37 2.3 Data Collection .............................................................................................. 40 2.4 Cases of Honour Killings ............................................................................... 41 2.4.1 The Case of Aqsa Parvez ........................................................................ 41 2.4.2 The Case of Amandeep Kaur Dhillan ..................................................... 43 2.4.3 The Case of the Shafia Family ................................................................ 43 2.5 The Sample .................................................................................................... 44 v 2.6 Coding and Method of Analysis .................................................................... 45 Chapter 3: Results .................................................................................................... 48 3.1 Descriptive Statistics of the Newspapers Coverage ....................................... 49 3.1.1 Space and the Length of Coverage ......................................................... 49 3.1.2 Placement of the Stories .......................................................................... 51 3.2 Media Frames of the Murders ........................................................................ 53 3.2.1 The Murder of Aqsa ................................................................................ 53 3.2.1.1 Culture Clash within Immigrant Families ........................................ 55 3.2.1.2 The Role of Islam ............................................................................. 58 3.2.1.3 The Hijab Debate ............................................................................. 61 3.2.1.4 The Picture of the Victim and the Perpetrators ................................ 63 3.2.1.5 Elements of Universal Feminist Approaches ................................... 67 3.2.2 The Murder of Amandeep ....................................................................... 70 3.2.3 The Murder of the Shafia Family ............................................................ 74 3.2.3.1 Images of the Victims and the Perpetrators ..................................... 77 3.2.3.2 Elements of Universal Feminist Approaches ................................... 79 Chapter 4: Discussion .............................................................................................. 81 4.1 The Battle over Bodies of Muslim Women ................................................... 85 4.2 Portrayal of Victims and Victimizers of Honour
Recommended publications
  • Preliminary Examination of So-Called “Honour Killings” in Canada
    Preliminary Examination of so-called “Honour Killings” in Canada Prepared by: Dr. Amin A. Muhammad MBBS, MRCPsych, FRCPI, FRCPC, PhD, BCPsych, D.P.M, D.C.P., MCPsychI, MCPS, Professor of Psychiatry, Memorial University of Newfoundland Presented to: Family, Children and Youth Section Department of Justice Canada June 2010 The views expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the Department of Justice Canada. Aussi disponible en français Information contained in this publication or product may be reproduced, in part or in whole, and by any means, for personal or public non-commercial purposes, without charge or further permission, unless otherwise specified. You are asked to: - exercise due diligence in ensuring the accuracy of the materials reproduced; - indicate both the complete title of the materials reproduced, as well as the author organization; and - indicate that the reproduction is a copy of an official work that is published by the Government of Canada and that the reproduction has not been produced in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of the Government of Canada. Commercial reproduction and distribution is prohibited except with written permission from the Department of Justice Canada. For more information, please contact the Department of Justice Canada at: www.justice.gc.ca. ©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, 2013 ISBN 978-1-100-22745-0 Cat. No. J4-23/2013E-PDF TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction 4 2. Apparent Modern-Day Incidence Outside of Canada 6 3.
    [Show full text]
  • Honour Killing in Sindh Men's and Women's Divergent Accounts
    Honour Killing in Sindh Men's and Women's Divergent Accounts Shahnaz Begum Laghari PhD University of York Women’s Studies March 2016 Abstract The aim of this project is to investigate the phenomenon of honour-related violence, the most extreme form of which is honour killing. The research was conducted in Sindh (one of the four provinces of Pakistan). The main research question is, ‘Are these killings for honour?’ This study was inspired by a need to investigate whether the practice of honour killing in Sindh is still guided by the norm of honour or whether other elements have come to the fore. It is comprised of the experiences of those involved in honour killings through informal, semi- structured, open-ended, in-depth interviews, conducted under the framework of the qualitative method. The aim of my thesis is to apply a feminist perspective in interpreting the data to explore the tradition of honour killing and to let the versions of the affected people be heard. In my research, the women who are accused as karis, having very little redress, are uncertain about their lives; they speak and reveal the motives behind the allegations and killings in the name of honour. The male killers, whom I met inside and outside the jails, justify their act of killing in the name of honour, culture, tradition and religion. Drawing upon interviews with thirteen women and thirteen men, I explore and interpret the data to reveal their childhood, educational, financial and social conditions and the impacts of these on their lives, thoughts and actions.
    [Show full text]
  • Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team June 2001 Annual Report Executive Summary
    DOMESTIC VIOLENCE FATALITY REVIEW TEAM JUNE 2001 ANNUAL REPORT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Domestic Violence Fatality Review Teams were first formed in Florida in the mid – 1990’s. These Teams began as local initiatives supported with federal grant funds. Their goal is to examine in depth cases that resulted in a domestic violence fatality to try to identify potential changes in policy or procedures that might prevent a future death. These Teams work independently and are comprised of representatives from law enforcement, the courts, social services, State Attorneys, Domestic Violence Centers and others who may come into contact with domestic violence victims and perpetrators. In 2000, the Florida Legislature enacted s. 741.316, F.S., which recognizes the work of these Teams and calls for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to develop a standard data collection form to gather information from the local Fatality Review Teams to publish in an annual state-level report. After this law became effective on July 1, 2000, FDLE staff worked quickly to establish relationships with the 10 existing Fatality Review Teams and with six new Teams that formed in response to the legislation. In creating a standard data collection tool to be used statewide, FDLE staff researched existing procedures and data collection tools and involved the Teams in the developmental process. Within six months, in January 2001, FDLE provided a standard data collection form and manual, which all 16 teams began using. Because actual standardized data collection did not begin until this year, the first Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team Annual Report contains very little data.
    [Show full text]
  • A Fortiori, 543 a Posteriori, 543 a Prendre, 543 a Priori, 543 A-B Trust
    6587Z02_INDEX.qxd_cc 8/28/07 4:05 PM Page 525 Index a fortiori, 543 Adjudication, 73 Alimony, 436 a posteriori, 543 Administrator, 271, 293 Alimony pendente lite, 436 a prendre, 543 Administrator ad litem, 294 Allegation, 26 a priori, 543 Administrator c.t.a., 293 Allege, 26 A-B trust, 314 Administrator d.b.n., 293 Allonge, 449 ab initio, 543 Administrator d.b.n.c.t.a., 293 Alluvion, 350 Abortion, 133 Administrator pendente lite, 294 Alternate jurors, 61 Absolute defenses, 448 Administrator w.w.a., 293 Alternative dispute resolution, 7 Absolute liability, 168 Adminstratrator cum testamento annexo, amicus curiae, 543 Abstract, 383 293 Ancillary administrator, 294 Abstract of title, 383 Adminstratrator de bonis non, 293 Animus furandi, 96 Abutters, 392 Adminstratrator de bonis non cum animus testandi, 543 Acceleration clause, 371 testamento annexo, 293 anno Domini (A.D.), 543 Acceptance, 181, 447 Administrator with the will annexed, Annulment, 422–423 Acceptor, 447 293 Answer, 39 Accessory after the fact, 86–87 Adminstratrix, 271, 293 ante, 543 Accessory before the fact, 85–86 Admiralty, 3 Antenuptial contract, 421 Accomplice, 84–87 Admissible evidence, 70 Anticipatory breach, 204 Accord and satisfaction, 203 Adoption, 283 Antilapse statutes, 262 Accretion, 350 Adoptive parents, 283 Apparent authority, 239 Acknowledgment, 358 Adultery, 130 Appeal, 5 Acquisition of real property, 346–355 Advance directives, 253–254 Appeal bond, 74 adverse possession, 349 Advancement, 262 Appearance, 435 deeds, 347, 356–367. See also Deeds Adverse possession,
    [Show full text]
  • Intrafamily Femicide in Defence of Honour: the Case of Jordan
    Third WorldQuarterly, Vol22, No 1, pp 65 – 82, 2001 Intrafamilyf emicidein de fenceo f honour:the case o fJordan FADIA FAQIR ABSTRACT This article deals with the issue of honourkillings, aparticular type of intrafamily femicide in defenceof honourin Jordan.The legal, social, religious, nationalist andtribal dimensionsand arguments on such killings are presented.Drawing on Arabic and English source material the role ofrumour, social values andother dynamicsin normalisingthis practice in Jordantoday is analysed.Honour killings, whichcontradict manyinternational andnational laws andcovenants, are clearly connectedto the subordinationof womenin Jordanand to the ‘criming down’of domestic violence.The prevailing discrim- inatory culture cannotchange without implementing a comprehensivepro- grammefor socio-legal andpolitical reform. The debateon harm Scholarlyconcentration on harm to womenhas beencriticised recently bymany feminists, whoargue that the debatefocuses solely onviolence, victimisation andoppression of women. 1 TheArab world, however, has notreached the stage wherea similar debateis possible becausedocumentation of and discussion aboutviolence against womenare still in the infancystage. Suchdebates within the Anglo-Saxoncontext, theref ore,do not seem relevant in their entirety to Arabwomen’ s experiences,since most suchwomen are still occupantsof the domestic, private space.Other Western theories, models andanalysis, however, canbe transferred andapplied (with caution)to the Arabexperience of gender violence,which is still largely undocumented. Whatis violence againstwomen? Violenceis the use ofphysical forceto inict injuryon others,but this denition couldbe widened to includeimproper treatment orverbal abuse. It takes place atmacrolevels, amongnation states andwithin communities, andat micro levels within intimate relationships. Theuse ofviolence to maintain privilege turned graduallyinto ‘the systematic andglobal destruction ofwomen’ , 2 orfemicide, 3 with the institutionalisation ofpatriarchy over the centuries.
    [Show full text]
  • And Other Essays
    University of New Orleans ScholarWorks@UNO University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations Dissertations and Theses Spring 5-17-2013 "Two Thousand Hours" and Other Essays Bradley P. Guillory University of New Orleans, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td Part of the Nonfiction Commons Recommended Citation Guillory, Bradley P., ""Two Thousand Hours" and Other Essays" (2013). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 1682. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1682 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by ScholarWorks@UNO with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights- holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. This Thesis has been accepted for inclusion in University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. University of New Orleans ScholarWorks@UNO University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations Dissertations and Theses 5-17-2013 "Two Thousand Hours" and Other Essays Bradley P. Guillory Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UNO.
    [Show full text]
  • American Electra Feminism’S Ritual Matricide by Susan Faludi
    ESS A Y American electrA Feminism’s ritual matricide By Susan Faludi o one who has been engaged in feminist last presidential election that young women were politicsN and thought for any length of time can recoiling from Hillary Clinton because she “re-­ be oblivious to an abiding aspect of the modern minds me of my mother”? Why does so much of women’s movement “new” feminist activ-­ in America—that so ism and scholarship often, and despite its spurn the work and many victories, it ideas of the genera-­ seems to falter along tion that came before? a “mother-­daughter” As ungracious as these divide. A generation-­ attitudes may seem, al breakdown under-­ they are grounded in lies so many of the a sad reality: while pathologies that have American feminism long disturbed Amer-­ has long, and produc-­ ican feminism—its tively, concentrated fleeting mobilizations on getting men to give followed by long hi-­ women some of the bernations; its bitter power they used to divisions over sex; give only to their sons, and its reflexive re-­ it hasn’t figured out nunciation of its prior incarnations, its progeni-­ how to pass power down from woman to woman, tors, even its very name. The contemporary to bequeath authority to its progeny. Its inability women’s movement seems fated to fight a war on to conceive of a succession has crippled women’s two fronts: alongside the battle of the sexes rages progress not just within the women’s movement the battle of the ages. but in every venue of American public life.
    [Show full text]
  • Purified by Blood
    Clementine van Eck Clementine van Eck Clementine van Eck Purified by Blood Honour Killings amongst Turks in the Netherlands Purified by Blood Honour killings are murders that are carried out to purify tarnished honour, the honour in question being namus. Both men and women possess namus. For women and girls, namus means chastity, while for men it means having chaste female family members. Honour killing is a widely known phenomenon in Turkey, where the Hürriyet newspaper reports an average of six such killings a month. As a result of migra- tion since the 1960s and 1970s, we also encounter it in Western Europe (the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Sweden and Denmark). This study examines in detail 20 cases of honour killing by Turks in the Netherlands. Particular atten- tion is given to the social factors that play a role in the decision to commit an honour killing. Clementine van Eck studied Cultural anthropology and Turkish language and literature. She now teaches courses on honour killing and intercultural communication to the police. Purified by Blood ISBN 90 5356 491 8 Honour Killings amongst Turks in the Netherlands A U P A U P Purified by Blood Purified by Blood Honour Killings amongst Turks in the Netherlands Clementine van Eck Amsterdam University Press For G.J. van Eck (1919-1975) Cover design: Sabine Mannel/nap, Amsterdam Lay-out: japes, Amsterdam isbn 90 5356 491 8 nur 747/761 © Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam, 2003 All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of both the copyright owner and the author of the book.
    [Show full text]
  • Honour Killings and the Quest for Justice in Black and Minority Ethnic Communities in the Uk
    EGM/GPLHP/2009/EP.03 12 June 2009 ENGLISH only United Nations Nations Unies United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Expert Group Meeting on good practices in legislation to address harmful practices against women United Nations Conference Centre Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 25 to 28 May 2009 HONOUR KILLINGS AND THE QUEST FOR JUSTICE IN BLACK AND MINORITY ETHNIC COMMUNITIES IN THE UK AND MOVING TOWARD A “MULTICULTURALISM WITHOUT CULTURE”: CONSTRUCTING A VICTIM-FRIENDLY HUMAN RIGHTS APPROACH TO FORCED MARRIAGE IN THE UK Expert papers prepared by: Dr Aisha Gill©1∗ Senior Lecturer in Criminology Roehampton University, London, UK 1 Dr Aisha Gill is Senior Lecturer in Criminology at Roehampton University. Her main area of research is criminal justice responses to violence against Black and minority ethnic women in the UK. She has also served on numerous government working parties on ‘honour’ killings and forced marriages. She has published a number of recent papers exploring how victims of forced marriage and ‘honour’ crimes experience the civil and criminal justice systems in the UK. Portions of this paper have previously appeared in other publications by the author. Email: [email protected] ∗ The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the United Nations. EGM/GPLHP/2009/EP.03 12 June 2009 ENGLISH only Paper 1: ‘Honour’ Killings and the Quest for Justice in Black and Minority Ethnic Communities in the UK2 It is important to underline the universality of violence against women and its causes, because we are increasingly observing a worrying trend towards singling out certain types of violence and essentialising certain cultures as the source of the problem.
    [Show full text]
  • Women, Honour, and the State: Evidence from Egypt
    Middle Eastern Studies, 3 Routledge Taylor & Francis Group Vol. 42, No. 1, 1-20, January 2006 m G Women, Honour, and the State: Evidence from Egypt BETH BARON Activists in the Middle East and beyond have in the past decade stepped up their organizing against 'crimes of honour' or 'honour killings'.' These killings occur throughout the region among diverse ethnic populations and are not restricted to Muslims. 'A paradigmatic example of a crime of honour is the killing of a woman by her father or brother for engaging in, or being suspected of engaging in, sexual practices before or outside marriage', writes Lama Abu-Odeh in a legal discussion of crimes of honour in the Arab world.2 Premarital relations leading to a loss of virginity, or perceptions of such relations, and extramarital affairs or other infringements of the modesty of a girl or woman thus carried a heavy price. According to Arab customary law, immodest actions dishonoured the family, metaphorically tainting the family blood, which could only be 'cleansed' or redeemed by loss of life. An agnatic relative of the woman - her father, brother, father's brother or his son (who might also be her husband in a region where cousins on the paternal side frequently married) - was charged with killing her to redeem the family honour. The spilling of blood supposedly washed away the shame or dishonour. Women are occasionally killed by mistake (the rumoured activity never occurred) or, conversely, escaped punishment when the initial deed had been kept a secret: they were locked up, sent away, or quickly married off.
    [Show full text]
  • Annotated Bibliography on 'Crimes of Honour'
    ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ON ‘CRIMES OF HONOUR’ Preface This annotated bibliography was originally prepared under the auspices of the Project on “Strategies of Response to Crimes of ‘Honour’”, jointly co-ordinated by CIMEL (Centre Of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law) and INTERIGHTS (International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights) over the period 2000-2005. The most recent update has been completed in July 2013. The Bibliography includes annotations of published material, both general and regional, from several countries (in Africa, the Americas, Europe, Middle East/North Africa and Asia/South Asia). Within the geographical sections, entries are further divided between books & articles and reports, studies & comments. The co-directors of the Project, Lynn Welchman, then Director of CIMEL, and Sara Hossain, then Legal Officer (South Asia) at INTERIGHTS, acknowledged the work of Sanchita Hosali, Research Assistant, as well as Fouzia Khan and Samia Bano, former Research Assistants on the Project, in producing the original versions of this bibliography. For the most recent update, Lynn Welchman would like to acknowledge the work of Libera Chiara D’Acunto, an intern at CIMEL. Thanks also go to the following people who have volunteered in preparing annotations and in suggesting further sources during the different phases through which the Bibliography has passed to date: Faten Abbar, Zina Al-Askari, Saad Alami, Furkan Ali, Madiha Azeem, Cassandra Balchin, Mashaer Bashir-Ali, Andrea Nahal Behrouz, Sanghmitra Bhutani, Christina Brandt-Young, Zara Farooqui, Jonathan Faulkner, Danila Genovese, Daniela Gomes, Leyla Gulcur, Connie Hackbarth, Attia Jamil, Nurcan Kaya, Sabina Khan, Nazia Kosar, Ana Paula Linhares, Lisa Malesky, Naz Modirzadeh, Elaine Ngai, Rupa Reddy, Isobel Lucy Renzulli, Javeria Rizvi, Nina Sadik, Reena Sawar, Ziyad Sheikh, Anjolie Singh, Katrin Strohmaier and Anna Yarmon.
    [Show full text]
  • When Women Commit Honor Killings
    When Women Commit Honor Killings by Phyllis Chesler emale-on-female vio- lence has been min- F imized because male-on- female violence is far more visible, dramatic, and epidemic. However, women sometimes kill infants, spouses, and adult strangers, including other women. Indeed, as this study shows, women play a very active role in honor-based femicide, both by spreading the gossip underlying such murders and by Female perpetrators and accomplices in honor killings, like acting as conspirator-ac- their male counterparts, can be calculating, brutal, and without complices and/or hands-on- remorse. Tooba Yahya Shafia (center) of Canada was directly involved with her husband and son in the murder of three of her killers in the honor killing of daughters and her husband’s first wife. female relatives. A Deeper Look In order to explore this phenomenon, hands-on killers 100 percent of the time.1 this author conducted an original, non- (See Chart 1, below.) random, qualitative study of 31 honor The average age of all victims was killings (26 cases) in North America, Europe, twenty years old. When women were the India, and Muslim-majority countries, where hands-on killers, the average age of their women were named as hands-on killers victims was 18.3; although conspirator- and/or conspirator-accomplices in the media. accomplices killed victims whose average All of these honor killings took place age was 21, this age difference was of no between 1989 and 2013. Eighty-seven per- statistical significance.2 (See Chart 2, below.) cent were Muslim-on-Muslim crimes; the remaining 13 percent were committed by Hindus, Sikhs, and Yazidis.
    [Show full text]