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George Cobbold

In the name of Honour?

Why are honour killings seen as a culturally sensitive issue in the UK today

isnt it domestic violence? Ho ould feminists res!ond?

In "##$% an Ira&i Kurdish oman% 'ana(% as )killed for being in love*% byher family under the guise of honor+ ,etective Caroline Goodeinvestigated this case% eventually recovering 'ana(s body and!ersecuting all involved+ - honor killing is )the homicide of a member of afamily by other members% due to the !er!etrators. belief that the victimhas brought shame or dishonor u!on the family% or has violated the!rinci!les of a community or a religion*+ Culturally sensitive is )beingaare that cultural di/erences and similarities beteen !eo!le e0istithout assigning them a value !ositive or negative% better or orse%right or rong*+ ,omestic violence is )violent or aggressive behaviourithin the home% ty!ically involving the violent abuse of a s!ouse or!artner*+-nn 1akely is a feminist ho vies domestic violence as being)systematically linked to se0ual and economic !oer relations*+ 2hisessay ill e0!lore the reasons hy honor violence has essentially beenbrushed under the car!et in the !olitical arena% and the feministsociologists vie it+

'ritish and Kurdish cultures share little common ground+ 'ritain is anindividualisation culture% meaning the im!ortance of family life is !ale in

com!arison to that of the middle east+ 2he Kurdish culture !erceive familyas a collective% almost like a brand+ 2his ideology is occasionally !rimacyto Kurds ho emigrate to di/erent countries+ -n e0am!le of a culturaldi/erence is circumcision% hich is im!lemented in certain cultures )torefrain omen from feeling se0ual*+ 2hese traditions are occasionallycarried ith immigrants ho move into a )ne* culture% and are gras!edonto hen they feel a lack of identity+ In the Kurdish culture omen areoften abused+ 3orced marriages are often !ractised% ith omensometimes being se0ually% mentally% and !hysically abused by theirhusbands+ 3amily life is instrumental in this% as omen are e0!ected tomove in ith their ne husbands and be res!ectful+ If shame is brought

u!on families% some members see it 4ust to !unish the omen involved tothe e0tent of )erasing* them5 in 'ana(s case% Goode re!orts )there asnot a single !icture of her in the family house*+ 6ost 'ritish citi(ens arefar removed from this% thus they associate such e0treme acts ith theforeign culture and tradition+

Kurdish omen are fully controlled by men+ 2hey cannot ear !erfume%long nails or !luck their eyebros and are often beaten+ 3eminists ouldhave a ma4or issue ith this as omen are inferior to men% and victims ofviolence+ In 'ana(s case% she ent to the !olice and re!orted multi!le

incidents of violence% se0 ithout consent% and being )degraded!hysically% verbally and emotionally*+ Hoever this violence is not alays

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issued by a single man often it is a collective male family decision to!unish a oman for not shoing enough res!ect to a male member+,obash and ,obash vie this evidence of !atriarchy% in hich mendominate omen through domestic violence+ 3or 'ana(% this violence asnot restricted to the home+ 7he as under constant surveillance and

alloed no freedom+ 8albinder 7ingh says )omen do not have thefreedoms of a hite -nglo97a0on omen*+ 2his im!lies that it is not 4ustthe !atriarchy that e0!lains the continuation of domestic violence in theKurdish community but also the culture di/erences+ 1ften% !eo!le feel itnot their !lace% or !olitically incorrect to comment on other cultures5 thisegg9shell behaviour even evident in the 'ritish government% here honorcrimes are still ma4orly ignored+

3eminists see domestic violence as instrumental in a !atriarchal systemhich a/ords male dominant !oer+ 7ingh% in regards to Kurdish culture%says )6en get fed% se0ually !leased% and looked after they haveeverything on the table for them*+ 3eminists ould also vie this system:branded as )tradition*; as !atriarchal as men are e0!loiting omen fortheir on gain+ 1akley% a feminist% says )men and omen remain une&ualithin the family and omen do most of the houseork* this isa!!licable to the life of e0!loited Kurdish omen+ Hoever the ty!e ofdomestic abuse these omen faced is often tied in ith culture andheritage+ 2herefore% in 'ritain% similar cases of e0!loitation are found asthe family see it acce!table for a daughter to be the )!ro!erty* of thefamily+

In conclusion% feminists ould consider honor killings as domesticviolence% because omen are e0!loited and abused by men% for their ongain+ Hoever% immigration% dubious !olitical standings% and the clashingof modern and traditional cultures leads to honor crimes as often beingbrushed aside in the name of being )!olitically correct*+ In the UK alone itis !redicted there are