Another Reason For “Honor Killings”

Ma’an (Arabic) has an article about honor killing statistics this year, saying that the number of such killings has gone down this year to only 9 as opposed to somewhat higher numbers in years past.

One very interesting paragraph (autotranslated and cleaned up):

The study revealed that some of the murders, which are committed against women for reasons of honour, in reality are caused for a completely different reason. They are often related to the question of inheritance, in the refusal of many large families granting women their share of inheritance, being careful that the money not go to a strange man in the event of her marriage. As a result, the proportion of “spinsters” are high in wealthy families.

So not only are women’s lives worth less than “family honor,” but they are also worth less than family money as well. And the women who are unfortunate enough to have been born into wealthy families have a hard time getting married, as their families pressure them to remain single to keep the money in the family.

Perhaps some enterprising Islamic lawyer can create a sharia-compliant pre-nuptial agreement?

(cross-posted at Elder of Ziyon)

3 thoughts on “Another Reason For “Honor Killings””

  1. This is the first time I’ve heard of “protection of inheritance” as a rationale for a vengeance murder against a woman by male family members. Thanks for posting about this hideous topic — if you save one life it is as if you have saved the entire world. We need to raise our voices on behalf of the victims of these murders.

    There is no honor in murdering a wife, sister, daughter, niece — not anywhere and not ever.

    Karen Tintori, author
    “Unto the Daughters: The Legacy of an Honor Killing in a Sicilian-American Family”
    http://www.karentintori.com

  2. Killing for reasons of inheritance, calling it an “honor” killing, and then using one of the perpetrator-friendly penal code articles in the defense is an open secret in some Arab societies. It came up repeatedly in my recent empirical study of “honor” killings in Jordan.

    It’s just another reason why these laws must be reformed. They are being used to wiggle out of paying the price in all kinds of murders.

    Ellen R. Sheeley, Author
    “Reclaiming Honor in Jordan”

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top