AWID Resource Net Friday File

http://www.awid.org

Friday May 12, 2006

A review of '''Honour': Crimes, Paradigms, and Violence Against Women'',
edited by Lynn Welchman and Sara Hossain.

By Rochelle Jones - AWID

For most, the term 'honour crime' conjures up a multitude of images,
primarily abstract and focusing on the murder of women by their male kin
for allegedly offending the 'honour' of the family. Under the surface of
the term 'honour', however, lies a convoluted tension between cultural
relativism and the 'universal' applicability of human rights, and
context-specific interstices which contain diverse experiences and insights
into the concept of 'honour' and how it impacts women in varied ways.

The recently published book '''Honour': Crimes, Paradigms, and Violence
Against Women'' [1], edited by Lynn Welchman and Sara Hossain, is a
collaborative project gathering voices from different regions, cultures and
contexts. The book sheds some crucial light on the issues surrounding
so-called 'honour' crimes, with contributors such as: Dr. Purna Sen –
Programme Director of the Asia region at Amnesty International; Dr Radhika
Coomaraswamy – former United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against
women, its causes and consequences (1994-2003); Aida Touma-Sliman –
co-founder and General Director of Women Against Violence (WAV), a
Palestinian women's organisation in Israel; and Dr Nazand Begikhani –
founding member of the NGO Kurdish Women Action against Honour Killing
(KWAHK), to name but a few. With their diverse perspectives, the authors
traverse the terrain of 'honour' on the ground, as well as providing
thought-provoking analysis of the value and meaning of the term, and
international approaches to the crimes perpetrated under its rubric.

What is the value and meaning of 'honour'?

There is no attempt made in this book to define 'honour' or 'honour
crimes'. As Sohail Akbar Warraich observes about 'honour crimes' in
Pakistan, "...local understandings of this term vary depending on who kills
whom and the perceived transgression of social norms.." (p78). In the
Preface, Radhika Coomaraswamy contextualises the value and meaning of
'honour', however, in her simple statement:

"Honour is generally seen as residing in the bodies of women"

She expands on this by explaining how "in many societies the ideal of
masculinity is underpinned by a notion of 'honour' – of an individual man,
or a family or a community – and is fundamentally connected to policing
female behaviour and sexuality". According to Radhika, 'honour crimes'
include direct violence, such as murder, "as well as indirect subtle
control exercised through threats of force or the withdrawal of family
benefits and security".

Purna Sen, in her contribution, outlines six key features that she believes
characterise 'honour crimes' as distinct from other forms of killing - two
notable points being:

* Gender relations that problematise and control women's behaviours,
shaping and controlling women's sexuality in particular; and
* Collective decisions regarding punishment, or in upholding the actions
considered appropriate, for transgressions of these boundaries (p50).

Throughout the book and across cultures, it becomes apparent that women's
bodies and sexuality are the territory for perceived family, conjugal, and
community honour.

'Honour' and the law

The authors of this collection of essays adopt an explicitly legal theme in
their analysis of 'honour' and crimes of 'honour', mostly because the book
evolved out of a research project with a legal manifesto. For example, in
one contribution, Sohail Akbar Warraich situates 'honour crimes' in
Pakistan through a dissection of the Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code
and how notions of honour have been socially sanctioned through both
Colonial and Post-Colonial governance. Other chapters analyse the legal
frameworks in their local contexts that both assist and impede women's
protection and justice, such as Anja Bredal's analysis of government
initiatives in Norway to counter the practice of forced marriages.

Despite this legal locus, however, 'Honour' also provides insightful
analysis, with important themes captured and articulated by Welchman and
Hossain in the Introduction, coupled with a clear outline of why an
analysis of the law - particularly domestic law - is so critical:

"As Jane Connors sets out, international human rights law requires states
to exercise due diligence in protecting women from such violations by
private actors, while domestic legislation, court practice and informal
legal structures vary in the level of protection and remedy they offer
women, in particular where family or conjugal 'honour' is invoked." (p3).

In cases where the political environment is volatile, there is an even
greater need to ensure that women's rights are protected by the law and not
overlooked in the face of a 'larger' cause. Aida Touma-Sliman discusses
these challenges in her paper on Palestinian women's rights in Israel:

"In the context of such a political reality and a minority struggle seeking
unity of the community at any price, women's issues – including 'crimes of
honour' as violence against women – were marginalised and ignored for the
sake of the general cause. Any effort to challenge 'honour crimes' was
perceived as an effort to shatter the delicate balance between the
different political and social groups inside the community" (p182).

Between the lines

Some of the key discussions and themes emerging from the collection
include:

* Interrogating the term 'honour crime' with regards to violence against
women and whether it is in fact harmful for women. Some argue that using
terms such as 'dishonour', and 'shame', will transmute the association of
honour to that of both men and women and move away from situating honour
squarely within the bodies of women. Others suggest that any reclamation of
the term in the context of violence against women should be approached with
caution.

* Connections between 'crimes of honour' and 'crimes of passion' and how
the former is generally associated with the 'East' and the latter
associated with the 'West'.

* The changing nature of 'honour' crimes, with a greater number of
perpetrators being husbands of the victims, rather than blood relatives.

* Dispelling the myth that 'honour' crimes occur only within Muslim and
minority communities – with analysis from Brazil, Mexico and across Latin
America.

The book is a valuable resource pertaining to violence against women in the
context of 'honour'and the legal frameworks that exist across cultures to
prevent and eradicate it. The legal focus in different local contexts
highlights the complexities resulting from cultural, religious and gendered
opposition to women's human rights and freedoms. It offers unique
perspectives and new insights into a phenomenon that has tended to be
generalised and misunderstood across borders due to a lack of information
sharing. Perspectives from Africa are notably missing from the book, and
would have offered a greater balance across cultures, but overall it is an
excellent tool for lawyers, activists and anyone dedicated to the
eradication of violence against women.

Notes:
[1] Published by Zed Books 2005.