Arguments Against Honor Killing

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Honor killing is the physical abuse or murder of an individual suspected of violating social or cultural norms. Honor killing is practiced the most in the middle east, specifically in Palestine, by followers of Islam. People who participate in honor killing do so in belief that it will restore honor and protect the reputation of the family and community. The victims are usually young women and homosexuals that have violated anything from choice of sexual/ martial partner, education, employment, dress code, sexuality, behavior and contact with the opposite sex, and the community's cultural expectations. There has been an increase of honor killings in recent years. In the Honor Based Violence Awareness Network, it is stated that 5,000 honor killings occur internationally, per year. However, the number of honor killings that occur per year may possibly be higher because many are not reported or are covered up. The victims of honor killing are usually brutally murdered and are not provided the opportunity to undergo any sort of legitimate trial to judge their innocence. In some cases, honor killing takes the form of suicide in which the accused will be forced to take his or her own life. Honor killing is unfair and inhumane and should therefore be illegal. Those who participate in such practices should be punished. To be able to understand the wrongness of honor killing, this essay will consider the laws, religions , and feminist perspectives of places with the highest rate of honor killings.
The first argument is that there are laws that prohibit the practice of honor killing. The Palestinian Penal Code, "...give both women and men equal coverage under 'extenuating circumstances' when they are surprised to find their spouse in an a...

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... the women for breaking rules yet they are the ones who commit the murder which in most religions is one of the worst sins that can be committed. Also, another strength of this paper is the last argument which claims that it is unfair to women. Several case studies involve a man killing a woman for reasons such as rape and suspicion. Along with the case studies, the several laws "against" honor killing show that men are given more favor and leniency in comparison to women. From the facts and opinions in this paper, honor killing should be prohibited. There are some laws that do not allow for it to be practiced. It goes against several of the teachings of different religions and it degrades and brings injustice to women, who are the primary victims of honor killing. Without being said, these three main arguments defend the thesis that honor killing should be illegal.

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