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Human Rights Watch defines "honor
killings" as follows:
Honor crimes are acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male
family members against female family members, who are perceived to have
brought dishonor upon the family. A woman can be targeted by
(individuals within) her family for a variety of reasons, including:
refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, being the victim of a
sexual assault, seeking a divorce — even from an abusive husband — or
(allegedly) committing adultery. The mere perception that a woman has
behaved in a specific way to "dishonor" her family, is sufficient to
trigger an attack.
For example, honor killings can sometimes target those who choose
boyfriends, lovers or spouses outside of their family's ethnic and/or
religious community. Some women who adopt the customs (or religion) of
an outside group, may also be more likely to be victims. Furthermore, in
certain cultures a raped single woman will garner no bride price if she
marries, and thus be considered "worthless" to the family. There is some
evidence that homosexuality can also be grounds for honor killing by
relatives. Several cases have been suspected but not confirmed. There is
also a documented case of a gay Jordanian man who was shot (but not
fatally) by his brother.
Many hold the practice to be self-contradictory, since an honor killing
is sometimes justified by its participants or supporters, as an attempt
to uphold the morals of a religion or a code, which at the same time
generally forbids killing as morally wrong.
THE CROWD GATHERS around as tears flow down
her cheeks. Her last day will be her worst. The assorted gang
are allowed stones of a particular size: Not bigger than, nor
smaller than one-third of, a human digit. Hence, the stones
should be around one-half the size of an adult finger. The logic
is to inflict the maximal pain. The objective is to stone the
adulterous woman to death.
The woman is buried up to her neck as her
kids watch the whole scene. The Iranian state forces the close
relatives of the woman to attend the public execution. A truck
pulls up with the correctly proportioned stones. The verdict is
read and then the official of the regime throws the first stone.
The chanting and the barrage start. The
stones smash into her delicate face. Soon, the red liquid gushes
out of her forehead. The intensity of the direct hits gouges out
her right eye. Her nose gets completely broken. Her teeth are
torn apart. She inhales a mixture of noxious air and blood. Her
face is forever lost.
She streams in and out of consciousness.
Shards of bone are sent in all directions as the stones brutally
chisel the region where once her face was. The last thing she
hears as the crowd extinguishes her frail soul is, "Allah
Akbar!"
Such is the fate of women who are found
guilty of adultery in Iran. In the modern world, no other
state-sanctioned punishment exceeds this heinous display of
public savagery. |
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