Research Paper Honour Killings in the Middle East and Beyond: An Issue of Cultural Patriarchy By: Winston Ly Student Number: xxxxxx592 Date: December 11, 2013 Course: SOCI 4039 B (Carleton University) Professor: Nahla Abdo Page 0 of 15
Introduction In many examples of Western media, women in the Middle East are often portrayed as victims of male abuse and violence against women. Attempts to understand reasons for why people commit such atrocities from a surface perspective are often convoluted and biased undertakings. An example of this is how veiling and honour killings are only seen as "hot topics" or used attract a lot of publicity in North American and Israeli media (Abdo and Lentin, 2002: 147). To further complicate things, this dialogue has also extended beyond the geographical area of the Middle East and is directed towards the Muslim world as a whole. Specific instances of abuse and of violence against women can range from female genital mutilation, acid throwing, rape, domestic abuse, and various other examples of horrible mistreatment. The focus of this paper however, will be on honour killings; considered to be one of the most extreme forms of violence against women. Even in contemporary times, honour killing is still very prevalent and reasons for doing it are diversified. The purpose of this paper will be to explore the relationship between honour killings, culture, and patriarchy in the Middle East and the Muslim world. Moreover, it is also important to study why people commit honour killings and how people have reacted to honour killings. It would therefore be appropriate to ask further research questions such as: . How do researchers and scholars use sociological concepts in regard to honour killings? . Do these concepts overlap with one another and to what degree? · What has been done so far to stop and prevent honour killings? Page 1 of 15
Various pieces of both academic and non-academic literature will be referred to in order to determine the answers to these questions. The sources are varied in nature and range from news articles, journal articles and theoretical essays. What is "honour"? In order to understand the nature of honour killings, one must first of course define "honour". Within a Western context (and more specifically, the English language) honour is typically understood as prestige, reputation, or status. Honour is used to describe someone who is regarded to have a high level of respect from other people or even one who is considered to be privileged. Outside of the Western context, honour can sometimes be perceived on a completely different level. For instance, according to Do?an (2011), the concept of honour is "a sacred value and something more precious to him than even his life. It is an essential element of life. The loss of honor is equal to loss of life; and an ideal man lives for his honor" (Dogan, 2011: 423). This definition is based upon a conceptualization of honour as a catalyst for "Islamic honour killings". However, Do?an argues