The term ‘honor’ crimes, a grave misnomer in light of its tragic outcomes,
has largely become synonymous with the murder of women – mostly
young women. The act of an ‘honor’ killing, aided by loopholes in a
penal system dating back to the 18th century, mostly takes place within
sections of society where a restrictive definition of morality has been
adopted and where men take it upon themselves to punish ‘errant’
women within their families.
The
men who murder their female relatives feel that their actions are
sanctioned and therefore should go unpunished. Sections of society not
only accept the crime as an honorable deed, but more worryingly, they
pressure, shun, ostracize and force families within their fold to murder
their daughters, sisters, mothers and female cousins.
The
Information and Research Center (IRC) started looking at the cases
of female killings in Jordan in 2002 when it conducted an extensive study
for UNIFEM and came across shocking indicators of the prevalence of
violence against women in Jordan from male members of the family.
A significant number of these murders were claimed as ‘honor’ crimes
where women were accused of immoral behavior and the men who
killed them received reduced prison sentences of no longer than six
months in most cases.