Critical Relection B

Technology has been a huge help when it comes to research but I didn't like the lack of interaction with the class. Technology is what our generation is known for, we always have cell phones, iPods, Laptops and so much more with us; sometimes it is nice to actually interact with someone face to face. Such as have a presentation where information is sure to be shared with everyone and there is even an opportunity for questions and answers. Even though there is the option to comment on other peoples blogs it doesn't mean that peoples questions will be answered. I did learn a lot from peoples blogs while reading but figuring out what to comment on was very difficult. I find it difficult to write information down on paper I much prefer sharing it verbally to a group of people. I felt like my transfer of information through text may have been diluted because I have trouble putting my ideas into words.

Your Thinking. Your Choice

This topic makes me think about how the men who commit the crimes and the families of the victims feel about honour killings. I could not even imagine any of my family members being killed because the committed an act of dishonour. The way society works in different parts of the world is amazing and the interpretation of religion is very different. For example an american Muslim will read the Qua-Ran and think that women are just as equal as men where as a Muslim in Pakistan will read the same teachings and interpret them in a very different way. Very rarely will you hear about honour killings in Western society but when they do occur the punishment is very sever because of the way we enforce our laws. We do our best in Western society to stop any kind of violence against women especially when it comes to murder

Solutions

Honour killings is a difficult problem to solve because of the strong relation to religion and government that occurs within the countries in which honour killings occur. Many of the men who commit honour killings wrongly believe that the Qua-ran has told them to do so and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states " Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching." Therefore if they believe they are practising Islam the UN would have to take away their rights to stop honour killing it would also be disrespectful to their culture if we decided to place our beliefs in their culture. The only problem is that they are taking away rights by killing women that have the right to live, According to Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights "Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her life." The UN is put in a very difficult situation that's why it is going to take a very long time to come up with a solution that is suitable for the dilemma at hand. They will ask the governments to punish the perpetrators but the other governments may get offended or disagree with the statement that honour killings are actually wrong. An invasion by the UN forces could cause a war, the UN doesn't want to put more lives on the line then already are so they are forced to wait for the governments where honour killings are predominant to ask for help instead of offering it. 

Players and Steakholders

There are four major players and stakeholders involved in honour killing : the oppressors, the victims, the government of the country where an honour killing occurred, and activists. They all differ in views when it comes to honour killings and there are even different views within the groups because honour killings are very controversial.

The Oppressors are males who believe that women are objects who are the responsibility of the men in the family. They chose to punish the women in their family when they do an act of dishonour. The Oppressors usually a male of the family, believe by killing or beating the women they will be able to regain the honour that the woman has taken away. Most of time the family picks one of the brothers of the woman to kill her so the punishment will be minimal.

The Government are a major steak holder in honour killings, most of the time the governments and police have the same view of the people within the villages. They will give the oppresses minimal punishment if any because they believe that the women "deserved to die" because of her act of dishonour towards the family. Some countries where honour killings are not as widely accepted the parents are severely punished as in the case of Aqua Parvez who was a Canadian who suffered an Honour Killing.

NGO's and Activists are the last part of honour killings they are the people who set up or join organizations to put an end to honour killings. They will put pressure on governments and encourage to make repercussions to those which allow killers to go free. They are working very hard to make their own governments put pressure on other governments to make Honour killings disappear completely. The UN is also trying to put a stop to honour killings because they are a crime against human rights.

Causes

The main causes of Honour Killings is the belief that women are just pieces of property who cannot function by themselves in society. When in the cultures where honour killings occur the whole village has a universal view on women and how they should be treated. One women who chose to keep her identity protected stated "If you have a free soul you cannot be honourable" (www.stophonorkillings.com).  Honour is directly connected with actions therefore the woman has to behave in a socially acceptable way, which is defined in  different ways from city to city and even country to country. The government rarely intervenes in these killings because of their beliefs and values, if they are convinced that a woman has committed an act of dishonour they belive she should be punished as well. A lot of people believe that honour killings are directly related to Muslim culture because honour killings mostly occur in Islamic countries but the Qua-ran does state that women have equal rights. Honour killings need to be punished the same as murder in the countries in which it occurs.

Backgrounder

The act of committing an honour killing is a violation of human rights. The complication is found in trying to destroy them, to remove honour killings from cultures is another violation of human rights entirely. Honour killings mostly occur in countries where women are seen as objects rather than people. The men of the family have to take responsibility of the women to ensure she behaves. If she commits an act of dishonour such as: refusing an arranged marriage, sexual activities outside of marriage, homosexual acts, or "allowing herself to get raped" she will be punished. Punishment ranges from domestic abuse to murder, most time the brother is forced to be the perpetrator so the punishment, if any is not severe. The reason there is no punishment is because most of the law system agrees with killing in the name of honour. Honour killings in the western world have occurred in the past and the perpetrator punished to the full extent of our laws. There are many protests for them to end but nothing is changing rapidly.

Photo by: The Mamosta