Honor Killings in Turkey

So I liked this topic so much that I rewrote my second paper on it. I’m really glad the Turkey group picked Women on the Front Line, for us to see in class. I learned so much from it! One of the topics I chose to go over in my paper was how the men could also be viewed as victims in these killings and I would love to share that with you.

Here it is: Many would not consider men victims in these situations, but in some cases, they are. Ahmed, a 52-year-old Palestinian Muslim states in Reputation Is Everything , “Honor is everything. If a person loses his honor, he becomes like an animal." The significance of honor among Muslims is complex, especially when compared to Western standards, but in the high-context, collectivist cultures of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, the inappropriate behavior of relatives brings shame to everyone in the extended family. In Palestinian communities, family members often remain in the same village or neighborhood for their entire lives. Muhib Nimrat, a consul member of the Embassy of Jordan in Washington, D.C., adds "The family plays a role in every aspect of life in the Arab world, whatever you do, you have to consider the immediate family and extended family, even the neighbors. How will they react? What will they think? Unlike Western countries, which champion individualism, Arabs focus on the group. The family is more important than the individual (Emery).” In the film, Women on the Front Line, a masked woman spoke about how she was marked to be killed in the name of honor. The exaction day was already arranged, they were going to take her to the hillside near the village to kill her, but she escaped. Her brother who was also masked spoke in the film, stating he had been contacted many times and was told to give up his sisters hiding place or to kill her himself. When he said no, they said give us your sister or we will continue to kill people from your family. One can see now how he too can be viewed as a victim. From in class discussions, I also learned that if a man refuses to kill a loved one, and is disowned by his village, he can no longer buy food, or even walk down the street. While on this topic the film did some interviews with men who were put in prison for killing their mothers and sisters. When one man was asked, “what does a man live for?” he replied “his honor.” So I see the debate here as, is one man’s honor, worth another women’s life? I think many would beg to differ.