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Contributions from
the Column
Facts and trends
Water: Multi-stakeholder dialogue does not take off
World Bank: Wolfowitz to succeed Wolfensohn
Donors delay aid for Sudan
Afghanistan: Still torn apart
EU parliament opposed to sugar reform
Indicators for more effective aid
Honour killings – an underestimated crime
Supachai Panitchpakdi to head UNCTAD?
IDA 14: More money for the poorest countries
Somalia: Government is looking for a residence
Haiti: Hopelessness
04/2005
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[ Honour killings ]
An underestimated crime
Every year, some 5,000 honour killings are recorded worldwide. The number of unrecorded cases, however, is much higher as most of the cases do not make it to court. Honour killing is the murder – usually of a woman – by a male relative because of actual or supposed extramarital sexual relations. The murder is meant to restore the family honour. Often, however, the murder is also used to cover up other criminal offences such as rape or incest. It may also be meant to “solve” family problems, for example inheritance, or tribal disputes.
The number of honour killings worldwide continues to rise. In Jordan, honour killings still make up 26 percent of all murders. In Pakistan alone, approximately 1,500 honour killings are committed annually. In Germany, there have been ten cases since last summer. There are a number of common features between these countries with respect to the way this crime is dealt with. Typically, the perpetrators and those close to them having no sense of wrongdoing. Frequently, honour killings are punished leniently. In Pakistan, the law even provides for mitigating circumstances for the culprits.
A “crime of honour” does not come under the statute of limitations – therefore, women are also still killed years later. Even though, honour killings are considered un-Islamic, religious leaders often turn a blind eye. German society has also looked the other way for too long, says Ute Vogt, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of the Interior. “We didn’t interfere because of a misconceived liberalness towards the multicultural society. That was wrong,” she said at a conference in Berlin.
Legal frameworks must be created to prevent the perpetrators from getting away without punishment. The protection for women at risk must be improved; governments must be required to implement international agreements in this regard. Furthermore, the police, the judiciary and also medical institutions have to be made more sensitive to gender issues and women’s rights. Seyran Ates, a lawyer, points out that tightening the laws is not enough. Additional measures are necessary to start a rethinking process, sharpen the sense of wrongdoing and set in motion an open discussion with “conservative” opinion makers on violence against women, forced marriage and honour killing.
Jutta Werdes
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