Crimes of honor in jordan and the arab world book

Jordans parliament has rejected the senates recommendation to uphold a law providing stiffer penalties for men who kill women in socalled honour killings. Solid, informationpacked book on honor killings in the middle east. Scope of this paper this article will study and analyze the honor crime phenomenon in jordan from a social, legal and historical point of view. Sep 14, 2018 in jordan, some two dozen women are killed each year in socalled honor crimes, when a family member murders a female relative to clear the family name of a perceived stigma, such as. Honor killings claim the lives of around 5, 000 women every year. An honor killing or shame killing is the murder of a member of a family, due to the perpetrators. Honor in the mediterranean world is a code of conduct, a way of life and an ideal of the social order, which defines the lives, the customs and the values of many of the peoples in the mediterranean moral.

It is actually very disturbing, but there still exists a part of the community where they favor honour killings and believe it to be justified. Jordanian women imprisoned in name of family honour jordan. What is it like to be a young person in the arab world today. Rana husseini, i want to thank you for being with us, investigative journalist, activist from jordan, leading advocate against socalled honor killings.

The extreme tradition is practiced in some muslim societies. Most recently, in a sixty minutes interview abc, sunday, april 2, 2000, the new jordanian queen, h. It happens all over the world and has nothing to do with arab culture, she continues, adding that some of the victims in jordan have been christian. Jan 01, 2003 in the first book to address the dilemma faced by jordanian women in the workforce, amira elazhary sonbol delineates the constraints chat exist in a number of legal practices, namely penal codes chat permit violence against muslim women and personal status laws that require a husbands permission for a woman to work. Egypts rise in honor killings sparks regional debate. Legal scholar lama abuodeh, in comparing honor crimes and crimes of passion in jordan versus the united states, notes the fallacy of both the orientalist construction that the east is different from the west and the almost contradictory idea of international feminism that all violence against women all over the world is the same. Jordan has one of the highest rates of honor crimes in the world. Aug 09, 2017 across the arab world, a womens spring comes into view. Further, in this same issue it was reported that in amman, jordans womens prison, over one fourth of the 190 inmates were incarcerated to protect them from honor crimes. Honor killings and the construction of gender in arab societies jstor. The report said 10 honour crimes were brought before judges in 2012. This lively collection of eight short stories about arab teenagers living in iraq, tunisia, egypt, the west bank, lebanon, syria, jordan, and a palestinian refugee camp engagingly depicts young peoples experiences growing up in the middle east. Worldwide trends in honor killings middle east quarterly. Socialization and modern change sit study abroad, fall 2005.

Jordan, which has one of the highest rates of honour killings in the world, has made strides to curb genderrelated crime and boost womens rights. Human rights watch, the international rights watchdog, says there are typically between 15 and 20 crimes of this nature a year. Odehs recent book, jordanians, palestinians and the hashemite kingdom treats these. Oct 27, 2016 on october 7, a 36yearold mother of three was reportedly beaten and strangled in her home just east of jordans capital amman, allegedly at the hands of her exhusband.

Valentine moghadam explains the concept of a neopatriarchal society in his book. Jul 26, 2018 legal scholar lama abuodeh, in comparing honor crimes and crimes of passion in jordan versus the united states, notes the fallacy of both the orientalist construction that the east is different from the west and the almost contradictory idea of international feminism that all violence against women all over the world is the same. According to the honour related violence european resource book and good practice page 234. But there is a common nefarious defense by perpetrators that links these cases of violence against women in the u. In jordan each year, somewhere between 15 and 20 women are murdered in the name of honor. Calls for action as honour killings in jordan show sharp. In jordan, honor crimes can mean prison time fair observer. Jordan says honour killing is against islam the national. The jordanian authorities ways of dealing with honor crimes. From kuwait to america, genderbased killings considered less. Murder in the name of honour and millions of other books are available for amazon kindle. In 2009, husseini finished writing her book on socalled honour crimes in the world, with special emphasis on jordan.

In the first book to address the dilemma faced by jordanian women in the workforce, amira elazhary sonbol delineates the constraints chat exist in a number of legal practices, namely penal codes chat permit violence against muslim women and personal status laws that require a husbands permission for a woman to work. April 2004 jordan may be one of the most liberal countries in the arab world but women are still murdered for bringing dishonour on the family. Remarkable arab women who have made a positive impact on society through their work and vision were feted at the 2019 arab women of the year awards in. Jordanian journalist rana husseini on murder in the name of. Author bio elsa marston is the author of many works of fiction and nonfiction, mostly for young adults. According to human rights watch, around 15 to 20 women are reportedly killed each year in the name of family honor. Along with hospitality and couragebravery, it is one of the bedouin aspects of ethics. Honor crimes in jordan are the result of two factors. The jordanian government, for its part, has called on judges to deal with alleged honor crimes in the same manner as they do for normal murders. See everyday life in the muslim middle east, 16 donna lee. Jul 29, 2016 the university of cambridge has also reported that the government of jordan has increasingly criminalized honor killings, and in 2009 a special court for prosecuting honor crimes was. Further, in this same issue it was reported that in amman, jordan s womens prison, over one fourth of the 190 inmates were incarcerated to protect them from honor crimes. Oct 31, 2017 jordan has one of the highest rates of honor crimes in the world. It inspired jordans article 340 which permits murder of a wife and her lover if.

Queen rania, acknowledged that honor crimes are still taking place. The residents of this small town, which is located far west of copenhagen, were. In some countries, such as jordan, honor killings are either legal or minimally punished. May 29, 20 in 2009, husseini finished writing her book on socalled honour crimes in the world, with special emphasis on jordan. Across the arab world, a womens spring comes into view. Why honor killings still plague the hashemite kingdom of jordan in. The extreme tradition is practiced in some muslim societies if a woman is accused of bringing shame to her family. Produced by abc australia distributed by journeyman. This girl is languishing in jail because her family is threatening to kill her after she was assaulted by a. Dec 03, 2011 in jordan each year, somewhere between 15 and 20 women are murdered in the name of honor. The locus of crimes of honor in the jordanian penal code no.

The economic underpinnings of honor crimes in jordan. Women in politics and honor crimes in jordan mena women. With accompanying notes that provide contextual information, santa claus in baghdad brings a fresh perspective to youth literature about the arab world. In pakistan alone, there are 1,000 honor killings every year.

Onethird of the reported homicides in jordan are honor killings. According to a thomson reuters foundation report on womens rights in the arab world, jordan ranked secondworst, after egypt, in the category of honour killings. Accordingly, the burden of proof in rape cases before the court and the provision of solving the problem of rape by marring the victim to her rapist among many other violations of womens rights found in the arab states legal systems, such as honor killing, child marriage and martial rape, reveal the level of cultural, social, political. In 2016, 38 women were victims of honor killings in jordan, a country that generally records 15 to 20 of these crimes annually, according to human rights watch and an article in the guardian. India 4849, jordan 43, pakistan 24 and the arab world 33. The campaign to eliminate socalled crimes of honor can be seen as a starting point for the proposal of ending honor killings. Honor killings are part of a culture, not a religion, and occur in arab communities in the united states and many countries. The first factor is the jordanian societys willful ignorance of islamic penal law and the directives of the. Local grassroots organizations in jordan are carefully controlled by the state, thus making it difficult to fight against jordanian legislation. Jan 08, 2008 april 2004 jordan may be one of the most liberal countries in the arab world but women are still murdered for bringing dishonour on the family.

And in countries where laws have been passed to curb honor crime for example, in jordan, such laws often go unenforced. Alarabiya tv aired this report on may 18, 2005 tv presenter. S and those acts called honor crimes in the middle. A glimpse of domestic violence in the arab world article in issues in mental health nursing 231. Honor in the mediterranean world is a code of conduct, a way of life and an ideal of the social order, which defines the lives, the customs and the values of many. Family violence including crimes of honor in jordan. The book, in english, arabic and dutch, is entitled murder in the name of. In jordan, women at risk of honor killings are imprisoned, sometimes indefinitely, to keep perpetrators from committing a violent act against. The following are excerpts from a report about honor crimes in jordan and the way the jordanian authorities deal with this phenomenon. In jordan, honor crimes remain a relatively limited occurrence, resulting in the death of about 20 people per year. On october 7, a 36yearold mother of three was reportedly beaten and strangled in her home just east of jordans capital amman, allegedly at the. Article 340 of the jordanian penal code exempts from punishment those who kill female relatives found guilty of committing adultery, and article 76 of the temporary penal code allows defendants to cite mitigating reasons in assault crimes. Readers interested in learning more about honor crimes in jordan might find the following resources helpful. The university of cambridge has also reported that the government of jordan has increasingly criminalized honor killings, and in 2009 a special court for prosecuting honor crimes was.

The story of honor crimes lie in the west al bawaba. Arab women celebrated at london award show arab news. This article discusses the regulation and adjudication of honor killings in the arab world and traces the distributive and disciplinary impact of such regulationadjudication on arab men and arab wo. Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Honor killings and the construction of gender in arab societiest. In most countries data on honor killings is not collected systematically, and. Jordan journalist and human rights advocate and author of a murder in the name of honour, about socalled honour killings, rana husseini at a press conference at vaclav havel library, prague. This article is a discussion of honor killings in the arab world. The campaign faced difficulties that when corrected can lead to success. A paradigmatic example of a crime of honor is the killing of a woman by her father or brother for engaging in, or being suspected of engaging in, sexual practices before or. But, he added, that is the culture of the arab world. Santa claus in baghdad and other stories about teens in the. In 2004, at a meeting in the hague about the rising tide of honor killings in europe, law enforcement officers from the u.

Most violence against women in general, and in jordan in particular, takes place in the home, and is carried out by perpetrators who are directly related to the. Fauss, lindsey sabbagh, amal westminster college sociologyanthropology amman, jordan statement. Sep 16, 20 the campaign to eliminate socalled crimes of honor can be seen as a starting point for the proposal of ending honor killings. This article discusses the regulation and adjudication of honor killings in the arab world and traces the distributive and disciplinary impact of such regulationadjudication on arab men and arab womens sexuality. Honor crimes in the united states and offenders neutralization. As a countermeasure, jordanian authorities place women and girls who are at risk into protective custody. In jordan, house of safety offers hope and freedom to at. In many countries, the punishment for honor crimes are inadequate or nonexistentlaws either do not recognize honor crime or have insufficient sentencing for such crime.

Honor killings of middle eastern women leave them fighting. Frances article 324 inspired laws in other arab countries such as. In jordan, some two dozen women are killed each year in socalled honor crimes, when a family member murders a female relative to clear the family name of a perceived stigma, such as. Honor killings and the construction of gender in arab societies. Recorded honor killings on the rise in jordan human. And judge algazoo himself opined that a woman who stays out all night with a boyfriend has. Unfortunately, jordan like some other countries in the middle east and asia has an old tradition of h. The death of israa ghrayeb has ignited furious reactions regarding the socalled honourkillings in palestine and throughout the arab world. Honor killings rise in palestinian territories, sparking backlash. Still, activists say that one is too many, especially if the murderer may be. May 30, 2010 in jordan, honor crimes remain a relatively limited occurrence, resulting in the death of about 20 people per year. Oct 20, 2017 in 2016, 38 women were victims of honor killings in jordan, a country that generally records 15 to 20 of these crimes annually, according to human rights watch and an article in the guardian.