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)
