Honor Killings in Our History

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Honor Killings
Would you kill for the sake of preserving your honor? Some parents would go as far as killing their very own children in order to keep their family name pristine. Approximately five thousand women are murdered in honor killings every year according to the United Nations. However, according the women advocacy groups about twenty thousand women are killed annually. Honor killings are murders committed by those in a person’s family toward those who are believed to be bringing upon dishonor to the family. Honor killings can be dated back to the time of the Ancient Roman Empire where the patriarch of a family owned the right of life and death for any member of his household. Women pregnant out of wedlock were often killed to prevent the ruination of her family’s reputation. Usually once a family’s reputation is tarnished it can never be undone so the killing of the person associated with it is necessary to protect others in the family. Honor killings continue to be a major issue in many cultures as teens are starting to follow the new customs of the twenty-first century.
Honor killings began long ago before anyone would think. During the time of the Roman Empire, the patriarch, had the right to end the life of anyone in his household. Women accused of dishonorable acts such as adultery and premarital intercourse were
Ullah, 2 often killed to keep the family reputation untarnished. Killing a person suspected of bringing dishonor upon the family was considered a heroic act to some, long ago. Dishonor associated with a family was not to be taken lightly then and even now. In the United States several acts of honor killings have been committed in order keep a family away from dishonor. In 1989 a young teenage...

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... killings and domestic violence. As stated by Phyllis Chesler, “One group has an average age of seventeen; the other group’s average age is thirty-six (Chesler, “Worldwide Trends in Honor Killings”). The age differences among the two groups is a rather important one that greatly impacts statistics. In the older age group, the associated crimes usually include child abuse, incest, and marital stalking. These crimes are not associated with a culture nor are the young women targeted and the murders aren’t usually justified by the families. According to Chesler, ...these characteristics define the classic honor killing of younger women and girls”
Ullah, 4
(Chesler, “Worldwide Trends in Honor Killings”). In the younger age group, females are “...killed by their families of origin eighty-one percent of the time” (Chesler, “Worldwide Trends in Honor Killings”).

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