Swastika.Media- Analysis of Societal Norms Influencing Gender-Based Violence: A Comprehensive Exploration of Honor Killings - Part 4

Introduction

The phenomenon of honor killings represents one of the most complex and troubling manifestations of gender-based violence globally, challenging simplistic binary interpretations that often dominate discourse.

This analysis reveals that honor killings emerge from an intricate web of societal factors that extend far beyond the American tendency to view complex social issues through binary lenses of “good versus evil” or “civilized versus barbaric.”

Understanding Honor Killings

Beyond Cultural Essentialism

Honor killings are fundamentally acts of violence committed by family members, typically against women and girls, under the pretext of restoring family honor.

These crimes involve the targeted killing of individuals deemed responsible for dishonoring the family, with victims usually being women who have allegedly violated cultural or social customs.

The murders are typically premeditated and involve close family members acting as custodians of family honor.

However, the phenomenon defies simple cultural categorization. Research indicates that honor killings occur among women from different ages, religions, and backgrounds, challenging the notion that they are merely “ethnic forms of domestic violence prevalent only in certain communities”.

The practice has been documented across various countries, including those in the Middle East, South Asia, Europe, and North America, and while frequently associated with Muslim communities, honor killings also occur in conservative Hindu and Christian contexts.

The Intersection of Multiple Societal Factors

Economic and Socioeconomic Dimensions

The relationship between honor killings and socioeconomic factors reveals a crucial dimension often overlooked in mainstream discourse. Research demonstrates that economic and social issues are significant contributing factors to honor killings.

Studies have shown that a lack of economic development and opportunity causes men to value “honor” to gain and maintain status in their communities.

In Iran, provinces with the highest rates of honor killings also exhibit the highest rates of unemployment and poverty.

This correlation suggests that unemployment, desperation, and anger might predispose individuals to violence.

The COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated these conditions, with lockdowns, isolation, and financial insecurity leading to increased stress and poorer socioeconomic status, particularly affecting disadvantaged groups.

The connection between poverty and gender-based violence is well-established, with women and girls living in poverty being more vulnerable to various forms of violence, including sexual exploitation and trafficking.

Those experiencing domestic violence have fewer options to leave violent relationships due to a lack of income and resources.

Modernization and Social Change Paradox

Contrary to assumptions that modernization naturally reduces honor killings, research reveals a more complex relationship. The phenomenon of honor crimes has intensified during modernization in many contexts.

This represents what scholars term the “dark side of modernity,” where systematic marginalization and stigmatization of minorities and social groups lead them to rely more heavily on traditional honor codes as informal social control.

In Turkey, over 75 percent of the population migrated to cities in the last century, yet due to rapid urbanization, strong nationalism, and unequal treatment by the state, cases of honor crime have increased.

This suggests that urbanization and modernization, rather than eliminating traditional practices, can sometimes exacerbate them when combined with social exclusion and marginalization.

The modernization process creates a split between conflicting value systems, where communities are torn between modern individualistic values and traditional collectivistic honor systems.

This tension and systematic stigmatization and marginalization drive individuals to rely on local honor codes for security, increasing the likelihood of honor crimes.

Legal Frameworks and International Responses

The international legal response to honor killings demonstrates both progress and significant gaps.

Honor killings violate multiple international human rights instruments, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

The crimes constitute violations of the right to life, liberty, and security of person, as well as the right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment.

However, legal frameworks vary significantly across countries.

Some nations have implemented specific legislation targeting honor killings, while others treat them under general homicide laws.

In Pakistan, new legislation in 2005 acknowledged honor killing as a crime for the first time, though observers noted significant shortcomings, including provisions allowing victims’ families to “forgive” perpetrators.

Turkey has made several changes to its Penal Code, removing articles that reduced sentences for honor killings, though women’s human rights groups criticized the reforms for leaving loopholes.

The Migration and Diaspora Context

The phenomenon of honor killings in Western countries through migration presents additional complexities.

European countries have witnessed an increase in honor-related violence over the past 20-30 years, particularly in France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Turkey.

Annual statistics show about 10-12 cases in Great Britain, 12 in Germany, 11-14 in the Netherlands, and 5 in Belgium.

This expansion is linked to migration patterns, with the highest numbers of honor crimes occurring in European countries where the percentage of Muslim minorities is significant.

However, researchers emphasize that the problem is not temporary or limited to first-generation immigrants but rather “an Indigenous and self-perpetuating” issue carried out by present third—or fourth-generation immigrants.

Media Representation and Western Discourse

The representation of honor killings in Western media and discourse reveals significant biases that obscure the universal nature of gender-based violence.

When white Western men kill women, they often claim provocation or jealousy, while similar crimes by men from Asia or the Middle East are labeled as maintaining family “honor”.

This differential treatment reflects what scholars call “culture talk” - a form of discourse that culturalizes and racializes violence.

The Western gaze represents honor killings as symbols of Muslim “Otherness,” reinforcing an “us versus them” divide where the West is portrayed as civilized and Muslim cultures as barbaric.

This binary construction obscures patriarchal structures embedded in Western cultures and allows Western societies to feel morally superior.

Intersectionality and Multiple Oppressions

An intersectional analysis reveals that honor killings cannot be understood solely through gender or cultural lenses.

The phenomenon intersects with race, class, caste, religion, and other identity markers in complex ways.

In India, honor killings reveal how caste and gender inequalities create varied implications for individuals involved, with roles as victims and perpetrators differing based on both gender and caste membership.

Women’s roles in honor killings are particularly complex, involving not only vulnerability as victims but also participation as perpetrators and compliance as silent bystanders.

This participation often reflects deeply instilled patriarchy and economic dependence rather than equality or agency.

Similarly, men’s experiences vary based on their caste membership, with those from lower castes facing different risks than those from dominant castes.

Prevention and Intervention Strategies

Effective prevention strategies must address the multifaceted nature of honor killings through comprehensive approaches.

A socio-ecological model suggests interventions at multiple levels: intrapersonal (training, counseling, information), interpersonal (family counseling, peer support), institutional (organizational training, religious orientation), community (capacity building, social coalitions, media support), and policy (legal reforms, stronger laws, monitoring).

Professional training is crucial, as police officers, youth welfare workers, and other public service professionals do not always recognize honor-based violence.

The Netherlands has developed protocols for reporting honor-based violence and tools to help professionals identify such crimes.

Sweden has implemented specialized services, including school diversity advisors and competency-building programs for public services.

Conclusion

Moving Beyond Binary Perspectives

The analysis of honor killings reveals that these crimes emerge from complex intersections of economic inequality, social marginalization, modernization pressures, patriarchal structures, and cultural dynamics that cannot be reduced to simple cultural or religious explanations.

The phenomenon challenges Western binary thinking that categorizes violence as either “cultural” or “universal,” “traditional” or “modern,” “Eastern” or “Western.”

Honor killings represent a manifestation of broader patterns of gender-based violence that exist across cultures, taking different forms but sharing common roots in patriarchal control and gender inequality.

The systematic exclusion and stigmatization of marginalized groups during modernization processes can intensify reliance on traditional honor codes, creating what researchers term the “dark side of modernity”.

Effective responses require moving beyond simplistic cultural explanations to address the underlying structural factors, including economic inequality, social marginalization, and systematic discrimination that create conditions conducive to honor-based violence.

This multifaceted understanding challenges the American tendency toward binary thinking. It requires more nuanced, intersectional approaches that recognize the universal nature of gender-based violence while addressing the specific contexts in which it manifests.

The phenomenon of honor killings thus serves as a critical lens through which to examine how societal norms, economic structures, political marginalization, and cultural dynamics intersect to create and perpetuate gender-based violence, requiring comprehensive responses that go far beyond the black-and-white perspectives that often dominate public discourse.