According to the United Nations, it is estimated that globally there are 5,000 murders called ‘honor killings’ every year.  Women’s advocacy groups have estimated the number of victims is closer to 20,000 annually because many of these murders are covered up as accidents or suicides.  With the difficulty of reporting these crimes, official statistics are known to be significantly under reported.[2]

While a significant percentage of these murders happen in India and Pakistan, it is a global problem with the concern that this horrific practice is getting worse. It may be that increased awareness has made these crimes more recognized and reported, or social media and the internet allow more families to obtain information they consider to be inappropriate behavior which leads them to kill the family member.

What are Honor Killings?

According to a study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice:

Honor killing occurs when the family’s honor has been damaged. Honor killings are pre-planned and may be carried out by parents, husbands, siblings, or extended family. An honor killing is perceived by the perpetrator to be a way to restore honor to the family in the face of perceived severe damage.

When confronted with killing his sister Qandeel Baloch in Pakistan, Muhammad Waseem declared, “I am proud of what I did… I drugged her first, then I killed her. She was bringing dishonor to our family.”  He also stated, “Girls are born to stay home.” [3]

What is known is that the “victims of these murders are buried alive, burned, shot, smothered, stabbed, stoned and strangled to death” for a variety of reasons, including: “talking to an unrelated man, tweeting or Facebooking, refusing an arranged marriage, seeking a divorce, or disobeying her husband or father.”[4]

In a 2013 study of Jordanian teenagers, one-third of them believed such killings were morally right.  The United Nations Population Fund found that 68 percent of young Iraqi men believed an honor killing is a proper response to a perceived aspersion to their family name.

Sadly, the vast majority of the victims are young women in their late teens and early twenties.  The perpetrators are usually male relatives: brother, father, uncle.

The Global Outcry

While there are still a large number of individuals who believe such killings are justifiable, global organizations and countries everywhere are speaking out and saying: No More!  The United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and others have all decried this crime, recognizing that it is all tied to the belief that women are property and a man has the right to do what he wants with “his property.”

Because of the global outcry, laws are being changed albeit at a snail’s pace.  In 2009, Syria abolished a law that waived any punishment for an “honor killing.”  It now imposes a two-year minimum sentence; while that sentence is less than would be imposed for “murder,” it is a step forward.  In 2011, Lebanon repealed a sentencing provision that allowed for shorter sentences for honor killings.

It is not just international organizations and countries speaking out about this appalling act. Global mainstream Islamic leaders have also condemned any honor killings being done in the name of Islam.  But we need to understand that these killings are not found just in Islamic societies.  This type of murder occurs within a variety of cultures.

Bottom line: this crime is ultimately about violence against women and it must be fought at all levels: within the family, in the community, in every country and across the globe.

[1]        A number of countries use the British spelling of “Honour” with a u at the end.

[2]        Written statement submitted by International Humanist and Ethical Union, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status, submitted to the Human Rights Council, United Nations General Assembly, February 17, 2014.

[3]       See more at the Muslim Guy

[4]       Written statement submitted by International Humanist and Ethical Union, a non-governmental organization in special consultative status, submitted to the Human Rights Council, United Nations General Assembly, February 17, 2014.