Prudence and Madness

The atrocities of men and women around the world and the extent of which they commit such never fail to disgust and distress me.  Who has to believe in an afterlife of eternal torment and punishment when, here on earth, humans already bring it upon their fellowmen?  And the saddest thing is that in most of these crimes, the women receives the greater punishment.

One of those horrific crimes of violence against women is the practice of “honor” killing.

Honor killing is the revengeful murder of a female member of the family, carried out by any or all of the family member themselves, when it’s been perceived that she has brought dishonor upon the family name.  Refusing an arranged marriage, falling in love with another man that is not approved upon by the family for marriage, seeking divorce, even from an abusive husband, commiting (or being under suspicion) of adultery, or even failing to meet strict standards of moral behavior expected of a woman can be reasons to be killed.  A woman who’s a victim of rape will fear her family and her other relatives more than her rapist (or rapists) because it is perceived that she was the one who brought shame to the family name, regardless of her sufferings.

I’ve recently viewed a documentary made by Michael Davie on a case of honor killing in Pakistan.  It was initially aired on February 13, 2002 as part of National Geographic’s World Diary.  He followed closely a part of the life of Zahida Perveen, a survivor of honor killing by her husband, and how she underwent extensive reconstructive surgery, so as to augment her recovery.  She was 29 years old at the time the crime was committed and was six months pregnant.

The story of Zahida Perveen began like any other woman who had been a victim of honor killing.  She is a dutiful wife and did her best to please her husband and his family, as is expected of an Islamic woman.  But male members of the family (in her case, her husband) still find her wanting and thought of her as having “bad character”.  One day, after coming home from the mosque, her husband accused her of infidelity and tied her up, beating her, breaking her ribs and cutting out her eyes, nose, and ears, and the extreme brutality made her lose unconsciousness.  Thinking that she was already dead, he left her.  Neighbors found her inside their home and she and her children were brought back to her family.  Since then, it was her brother who took care of her and her little children.

This was how Zahida Perveen looked like before the crime (Photo from Erudition Online)

This is the outcome of what her husband did in the process of defending “his honor” (Photo from Erudition Online)

Zahida with her prosthetic nose and ears and artificial eyes (Photo from Erudition Online)

Women from the shelter for victims of violence helped her get the legal justice for the crime committed on her and her husband was put behind bars.  But as one of the women lawyers interviewed by Davie for the documentary, most likely, the husband will only spend ten years or even less, and he will be released again, the danger of which that he could find her and seek revenge for having him put in jail.  The visible lack of remorse apparent during Davie’s interview with him in prison makes this a strong possibility.  “I did right.  I was only defending my honor,” was what he said.

And who the hell told him that his honor is worth more than this woman’s dignity and life?  It is the culture prevalent in Islamic communities (and even some non-Islamic communities) that “women, like livestock and land, are the property of men, and that it is a man’s role to ensure a stable family structure. A woman’s virginal status is seen as both the property and responsibility of the man.“  It was said that the practice has its roots that precedes Islam and can be traced back to the Hammurabi and Assyrian tribes of 1200 B.C.  Nothing in the Quran says that it sanctions honor killings.

But the fact remains that Muslim men, some who are illiterate themselves that they were not able to read even the Quran, insist that the religion calls for honor killings (karo kari, etcetera) as just punishment and retribution.  And it is most often that these “laws” and the loopholes in it are manipulated to serve the interests of the involved men.  Poverty and lack of education do not seem to be the main factor why these honor killings still persist today because, in wealthier communities in Pakistan, the killings do still happen and is often the guise taken on to hide crimes committed due to fights over inheritance, property, and money.

President Musharaff has condemned the practice and outlawed it in 2005.  But, I think, based on what he said in Davie’s documentary, he had underestimated the number of such cases happening in Pakistan.  The woman lawyer interviewed by Davie who handles these cases claims that there are about 3 honor killings happening each day in Pakistan.  And perhaps, it may be understandable why the official numbers may not reflect the true number of cases, as honor killings go unreported mostly because relatives of victims are they, themselves, the perpetrators, or they’re fearful of those who committed the crime.  Not so many women can seek shelter outside their homes, as there are only very few safe shelters.  In fact, according to one woman who manages one of these shelters, they, themselves, and their family, are threatened with violence by religious fundamentalists who believe honor killings are the “honorable” thing to do.

But these courageous women, both the victims who stood up to be recognized so as to bring the world’s attention to their sorrowful plight and those who help fellow women by sheltering them and helping them gain access to education and legal counsel, offer some rare light of hope.  As the woman who managed a shelter said in the documentary, all her children, males and females, recognize the worth of her work and they help her out.  Though someday she may die because of her cause, her work is already done as she was able to pass on to the next generation the task of helping put an end to the dishonorable practice of killing women for the sake of a perceived slight on the “honor” of men.

And the son said (I’m merely paraphrasing what has been actually said on the documentary), “When I go to work at the radio station, I call on these women who fell victims of this heinous crime to come to us so we could help them.  I’m aware of the dangers, but all the more that I should do it.  I have sisters and I do not want them to be treated that way.  And when I get married, I shall treat her with utmost dignity and she will be as free as she can be.  We still can change how things are.”

It is my fervent hope that there’ll be more men who’re like him in Pakistan and in those other places where cowardly men kill women because they wanted to save face (what a dastardly barbaric way of thinking!).  But the more fearful thing, I think, is that females in the community - mothers, mother-in-laws, sisters, cousins - frequently support the attacks and assist in any way they can.  “It’s a community mentality,” said Zaynab Nawaz, a program assistant for women’s rights at Amnesty International.  And a mentality honed by thousands of years of culture is difficult to revise.  It is my fear that, unfortunately, we will still be seeing many other Zahidas in the years to come.

But how do we put a stop to this?  I believe Freeman of Amnesty International is correct in saying:

“Change can’t happen if it’s just people working inside the system; they’re overwhelmed. International campaigns and media attention give them some ballast and the ability to say ‘Look, the world is watching what is going on here,’ and provides support for making change in their own countries.”

Though we have our own worlds, our own culture, sets of values, and perspectives in life, we still share the same humanity.  Every human has a right to life and freedom.  No tradition or culture should ever place above that.

Other readings:

• Burned Alive:  A Survivor of Honor Killing Speaks Out by Souad
• Stop! Honour killings - an International campaign against honor killings
• Interview with Honor Killings Filmmaker Mike Davie
• Barbaric honor killings become the weapon to subjugate women in Iraq
• Amnesty International’s document on honor killings on girls and women in Pakistan
• Three articles on honor killings
• Thousands of women killed for Family Honor by Hillary Mayell (for National Geographic)