"Honor Killings"

Excerpts from an article in the Huffington Post 2/23/11 by Terry Tang

Faleh Hassan Almaleki Guilty: Jury Convicts Iraqi Immigrant For 'Honor Killing'

“A Phoenix jury convicted an Iraqi immigrant of second-degree murder Tuesday for running over and killing his daughter in a case termed an "honor killing" by prosecutors who said the father carried out the attack because he believed his daughter had become too Westernized.”

“Honor killings” are not an uncommon occurrence where there is a strong sense of loyalty and honor to the family, namely the male figurehead. It is such a disgraceful act. Some women are targeted for being with a male alone, having premarital sex, being raped, refusing a prearranged marriage, or anything else that a father, husband, uncle or brother may find that brings “disgrace” to a family. Although these “honor killings” are outlawed on the books in countries where it was a common occurrence, these murders are still happening.

“Almaleki fled to Mexico and then London, where he was detained and then returned to the U.S.”

Fleeing, to me, implies he knew it was wrong to run over his daughter and kill her. I don’t know if those who commit these horrific crimes against women know it is wrong and do it anyway, or truly believe that killing a “loved” one is something they are obligated to do.

A good book to read about one personal account of surviving an attempted "honor killings" is Burned Alive by Souad. It is a horrific tale of a woman who was set on fire by her family because she got pregnant before marriage. The family left her to die, but she was saved by a foreigner. Sad, sad story, but it needs to be told! Murder is wrong, and how much more wrong to be killed by your own family.

The World Rests with Women

I've read quite a bit of materials on how to solve the woes of the world, and amazingly, much of it has to do with the role a woman plays in life. In developing countries, most often it is the girls and women gathering water, fire sources, taking care of the garden, home, children and animals. I wish I could find the article from some years back about how countries that have either a female leader or a number of leaders do so much better with quality of life. Here are some tidbits from a recent Time article (To Fight Poverty, Invest in Girls by Nancy Gibbs, 2/14/11) that tells a little about that (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2046045,00.html):

"Across much of the developing world, by the time she is 12, a girl is tending house, cooking, cleaning. She eats what's left after the men and boys have eaten; she is less likely to be vaccinated, to see a doctor, to attend school. "If only I can get educated, I will surely be the President," a teenager in rural Malawi tells a researcher, but the odds are against her: Why educate a daughter who will end up working for her in-laws rather than a son who will support you? In sub-Saharan Africa, fewer than 1 in 5 girls make it to secondary school. Nearly half are married by the time they are 18; 1 in 7 across the developing world marries before she is 15."

"Girls under 15 are up to five times as likely to die while having children than are women in their 20s, and their babies are more likely to die as well."

"And the World Food Programme has found that when girls and women earn income, they reinvest 90% of it in their families. They buy books, medicine, bed nets."

Isn't that amazing? 90% goes back into the family, plus this stimulates the economy that supplies the family with what it needs.

"'Investment in girls' education may well be the highest-return investment available in the developing world," Larry Summers wrote when he was chief economist at the World Bank.'"

If that is so, why is the world so bent up on girls not getting an education? I'm going out on a limb, here, but I have to say that it boils down to having systems based on patriarchy.

"Success depends on infrastructure, on making fuel and water more available so girls don't have to spend as many as 15 hours a day fetching them."

Here's a link to Girl Up, which the article mentions: http://girlup.org/. It's an organization through the United Nations to promote healthy change from girls for girls. I HAVE NOT LOOKED AT THE ENTIRE SITE, so I'm not giving an endorsement yet. But if you have time to check it out, please, give me some feedback.

Thanks always,

Jessy