Honor Killing

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According to Webster’s dictionary, honor killing is, “the traditional practice in some countries of killing a family member who is believed to have brought shame on the family.” Honor killings take place all over the world, even in contemporary societies. One society that still participates in honor killings is Britain. According to a Newsweek article, a father killed his fifteen-year-old daughter. It was said that she had started to date a secret boyfriend, and after the family found out, a family council decided death was the best option. There are many stories that are similar to this one.
The tradition of honor killing goes back many years. Many honor killings take place because a female in a family or community brings dishonor on their family. The only way these families can clear their names of the dishonor is to kill the person who brought the dishonor to them.
“In the case of some honor killings in Europe and North America, victims have been killed for taking on Western behaviors that are seen as violations of traditional moral and behavioral codes, including adopting Western dress, listening to Western music, or having a romantic affiliation with members of other ethnic or cultural groups. In some cases, individuals have been the victims of honor-based violence for displaying homosexual behavior. In Europe and North America, a majority of known honor killings have been connected with Muslim immigrant groups, prompting the misconception among some that Islam condones the practice. The practice of honor killing has also been connected to conservative Hindu and Christian communities in some countries,”(Issit).
Different societies have different reasons for why they practice honor killings. In Pakistan, honor killings c...

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... is morally wrong. They would also want to teach me why honor killing is something they practice.
Honor killings for me, are morally wrong. I think it would be extremely difficult for me to understand the tradition and why the societies that practice honor killing believe it is morally right and a plausible solution. I understand the tradition behind the honor killings but I think there are many other solutions to the issues rather than killing someone. Overtime, hopefully honor killings will happen less and less. There are many more civilized ways to solve problems and bring the honor back to a family.

Works Cited

Chesler, P., & Bloom, N. (2012). Hindu vs. Muslim Honor Killings. Middle East Quarterly, 19(3), 43-52.
Husseini, Rana. "Honor Killings." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 6 May 2014.
Issitt, M. (2013). Honor Killing: Overview. Points Of View: Honor Killing, 1.

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