Arab women's groups: Men must speak out against honor killings

[Behind the Aegis]

Last week's "family honor" killing of Abir Salameh has sparked demands from Arab women's organizations that Arab men finally start taking a stand against the phenomenon.

Salameh, 23, a resident of Maghar, was strangled to death by her brothers, Hassan and Anwar, on account of her romance with a man from another village. The two, who are both married with children, turned themselves in to the police and have been charged with premeditated murder. Yet in Maghar, residents prefer not to discuss the killing.

This outrages attorney Sonia Boulous, who is on the executive board of the feminist organization Kayan and also works with the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. "Why have only women's organizations spoken out on this issue?" she demanded. "Where are the men? Where is the rest of the leadership?"

Boulous's outcry is not born only of moral indignation: Women's groups fear that if only women protest such killings, the issue will gain no traction in the rest of Arab society.

more...

[Thom Little]

1. Bump. This is too often ignored. Thanks for posting this, Aegis.

Another quote from the article.


Aida Toma-Suleiman, director of the Women Against Violence organization, believes family honor killings should be an issue in the upcoming elections. "This is the only type of murder in which the victim is the guilty party," she said. "We need to hear clear statements - with no 'buts' or hesitations."


I found this part really horrifying.


Moreover, family honor killings appear to enjoy significant public support: In a recent survey commissioned by Women Against Violence, more than 30 percent of Israeli Arabs expressed understanding for such murders. "The problem is that the murderers assume society will respect them if they explain their motive," said Toma-Suleiman. "And unfortunately, that is indeed what happens."

[Behind the Aegis]

2. It is so sad.

Some think this represents all Arabs or Muslims. However, nothing could be further from the the truth.

Some think this is nothing more than "bad-mouthing" or "demonizing" all Muslims. Again, not even close to reality.

Some think this is nothing more than "trying to make Palestinians (even if not about them) or Muslims" out to be "barbarians." Not even close to an accurate description!

What is the real issue? Women! What is their real value? Not a single person on this planet was born from a man! So why do we tolerate or excuse violence against women? Why are women still seen as property? It is a blight on our collective humanity. I believe it was Gandhi (I could be wrong), who said we should be judged on how we treat animals. Why are we not judged on how we treat our female equals?

Don't get me wrong, I think animals should be respected, but if we can show it to animals, shouldn't we show it to women?

[onager]

3. I'm seeing this at close hand

For the past two months I've been working in Egypt and will be here for several more months (I think). Overall, I spent most of 2005 here, staying in Cairo part of the time but mostly in Alexandria.

The local English-language paper recently reported the "honor killing" of a 17-yr-old girl who ran off with her boyfriend. Her father and brother fetched her back home, assuring her that all was forgiven and she would not be harmed. Then, in the main street of their village with many witnesses, the brother shot her in the head. He is in jail but probably not for long.

Ironically...I guess...the women in those villages have "equality" in one sense--they work as hard as the men, if not harder, adding in the tasks of child-raising etc. I stay in Alex but my job site is WAY out in the Nile Delta and I pass thru several of these little farm villages twice a day. The women are stooped over in the fields working right alongside their husbands, along with driving livestock to the markets and everything else in the way of hard farm work. The other day I saw a father teaching his little girl how to drive a horse and wagon. She looked about 7 or 8 years old but appeared to be doing pretty good!

Today's paper reports that Egypt just had a week-long workshop on "combating all forms of discrimination against women." It certainly had some clout behind it, at least on the surface. One of the speakers was the wife of the Egyptian President, Suzanne Mubarak, who is also chairperson of the National Council for Women here. You might want to keep in mind that this paper, along with most of the Egyptian media, is...cough, cough..."government-approved."

However, the papers here recently ran articles about Female Genital Mutilation that were very graphic in describing this horrendous practice. I doubt you'd see the same honesty in, say, the New York Times in the USA. It might offend somebody like Pat Robertson.

(Usual Grumpy Atheist Disclaimer): I'm just waiting for the Muslim apologists to jump into the thread and remind us that stuff like honor killings and FGM are "un-Islamic."

On the macro level, that's probably true. But it completely ignores life in the real world at the micro level...i.e., the level of a local village imam. If he declares such practices to be Islamically okey-dokey...or just blindly and silently ignores them...that, unfortunately, carries a lot more weight than the Learned Theological Experts here at DU.)

[Behind the Aegis]

5. Not a sight I wish to see.

When I see stories like this, I only remember the words of my mother: "There is no Black or White; no straight or gay; no Jew or Christian (or Muslim); no rich or poor; there is only "man" and "woman!"" It took me awhile to understand what she was saying. Although there are others differences that separate us, it is the male/female 'thing' that runs through our collective histories! A strong, confident woman is a "bitch," but a man is "assertive." A woman, comfortable with her sexuality, is a "slut," but a man is a "stud." A woman 'in touch with her feelings' is "oversensitive," but a man is "understanding." A woman who is "confident" must be a 'dyke' and a man who is unsure is a "pussy (or a fag)." To be feminine is a sign of weakness, especially in a man. To be masculine is a sign of strength, unless you have a vagina, then you must be a man-hating dyke.

I am not an atheist, far from it, but it is a shame to see that women are so devalued, especially when many proto-religions started as Goddess-dominated religions. Did we abandon woman? Or, did She abandon us?

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. Good post

When one realizes the cult of Inana and Isis lasted into the Christian era (many speculate that some of the Black Madonnas in Europe were originally statues to Isis), and that some of the Ancient ways only died out when the Wise Women were burned as witches, one realizes that the Goddess concept hung on for a long while. It is sad that it-and the concepts behind it-were wiped out so brutally.

[ninkasi]

9. Your mother was a wise woman

Years ago, my grandmother told me the same thing.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. Well, honor killings were done long before Islam

The idea of woman as property was pretty well ingrained in the ancient world. It was common practice among Arabs to put their female babies out in the desert to die-and even Roman law required that a family only raise the oldest daughter. Let's remember that this area is the "cradle of civilization"-and that old habits die hard.

The shame isn't in Islam, which forbids FGM and honor killings-the shame is on the people who do not follow the teachings but rather cling to customs that are ancient.

[rodeodance]

4. past time for ALL to speak out-esp. the male clergy!

[bemildred]

8. Damn right. Shine the light of day on these crimes.

And punish the perps to the full extent of the law.

[Triana]

10. Men in American Society don't speak out either...

...against the rape, abuse, and killing of women here. Same result. It remains an acceptable/accepted practice in society and the issue gains no traction.

I'm sure there have been/are numerous treatises written and spoken about this. The root of it is patriarchal societies and religions, IMO.