WUNRN
TURKEY - WOMAN TRACES
HER KURDISH AUNT'S HONOR KILLING - FILM
- 13 June 2012
Filmmaker:
Eylem Kaftan
A
young Turkish woman, now resident in Canada, travels to Turkey in an attempt to
unravel the story behind her aunt Guzide's murder, some 30 years earlier
in a remote Kurdish village.
As she searches for clues and closure, she encounters antiquated customs in a Kurdish culture she has never known. She knows that her aunt was a victim of a senseless vendetta killing and as she ventures from village to village she pieces together the woman's final days and closes in on the identity of her killer.
More than 30 years ago my aunt, Guzide Karaozan, was murdered in an honour killing.
In this film I return to Turkey from Canada to search for the truth about what
happened to her. This is a spiritual journey back to a place where some
decisions are still based on ancient tribal codes. Vendetta Song
begins by investigating one woman's murder, and goes on to reveal the clash of
values between the new and old worlds.
Nestled in the landscape of southeastern Turkey, amid the rocky deserts and
rugged mountains, is a land of Kurdish villages. Villagers here continue to
live in the same manner they have for hundreds of years. Though only a few
hundred kilometres from Turkey's major cities, they are a world away. The
people of these tribes can be hospitable, friendly and loyal. But theirs is a
traditional society, where a man's reputation can take precedence over a
woman's freedom, where ritual murder is sometimes used to ensure that a tribe's
honour is not compromised.
My aunt, Guzide Karaozan, was both the beneficiary and victim of Kurdish
values. When she was born, her mother, my grandmother, had to give Guzide to
the neighbouring village of Millan in southeastern Turkey. The women of Millan
breastfed and raised her as one of their own. Once Guzide reached puberty, she
was given away once more to a neighbouring village as a ceasefire offer. After
Guzide's husband was killed in a vendetta, both of her brothers-in-law wanted
to marry her. When she refused and tried to escape, she was killed. Though
Guzide's murderer was never found, villagers believe Guzide's husband's family
was responsible for her murder. After 30 years, Guzide Karaozan is still
regarded as a legend by the villagers of Millan. The men of Millan have vowed
to avenge her death.
Set against the backdrop of the Kurdish people's struggle for identity, where
boys grow up playing war games and girls learn to be mothers by looking after
younger village children, Vendetta Song is a search for my aunt's
identity, her life, and her murderer. The film also reunites me with my roots,
my native country and the people who cared for and loved my aunt.
Part murder-mystery, part family reunion, this personal road trip through
southeastern Turkey opens a window to the land and its people, shedding light
on the tragedy of Guzide Karaozan, who like hundreds of other women from this
place, was cast away from her family, then murdered for the sake of honour.
In the name of honour, hundreds of women are killed in Middle Eastern countries
every year. A man's honour is defined by the chastity of 'his' women. The
excuse for honour killings range from 'immoral behaviour', such as flirting
with men, to acts like marital infidelity, refusing to submit to an arranged
marriage, demanding a divorce, or 'allowing themselves' to be raped.
Families must maintain their 'honour' within traditional Kurdish communities.
If a woman has brought 'disgrace' to her family, there is often intense
pressure from the neighbours to execute her. Families sometimes execute the
women in public to display that they have 'restored their honour'. Thus, the
courts' leniency usually encourages families to execute their daughters, wives
and sisters.