Wednesday, November 10, 2010
"Honor" killings in Iraqi Kurdistan
"Our research in the Kurdistan region of Iraq shows that despite the recent efforts of the authorities to clamp down on 'honour' killings, women and girls are still being murdered by relatives in their dozens, sometimes with the tacit approval of the wider community."
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July 28, 2010:
"The father of Noor Almaleki, the 20-year-old 'honor killing' victim Editor at Large Abigail Pesta reported on in this month's issue of Marie Claire ("An American Tragedy," p. 98), will stand trial in Arizona for his daughter's murder in just a few months. Iraqi immigrant Faleh Almaleki, 49, ran over his daughter with his Jeep Cherokee in October for being "too Westernized" -- Noor socialized with the opposite sex, wore jeans, and rebelled against her father's desire for her to enter an arranged marriage. Faleh is now charged with first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and leaving the scene of a serious accident -- and he's pleaded "not guilty." Officials decided against seeking the death penalty for Almaleki back in February, but if he's convicted during the trial (now scheduled to start this November), he'll most likely spend the rest of his days in prison. "
'Iraqi Kurds, Palestinians in Jordan, Pakistan and Turkey appear to be the worst offenders but media freedoms in these countries may over-compensate for the secrecy which surrounds "honour" killings in Egypt – which untruthfully claims there are none – and other Middle East nations in the Gulf and the Levant. But honour crimes long ago spread to Britain, Belgium, Russia and Canada and many other nations. Security authorities and courts across much of the Middle East have connived in reducing or abrogating prison sentences for the family murder of women, often classifying them as suicides to prevent prosecutions."
Thanks Mojo for this post. As depressing as Honor killings are, remember that only a generaion or two ago such killings were widespread across southern Europe, but are very rare today. It may take a couple of generations for this to happen in the Middle East, but the pressure being put on govts about honor kilings shows that the same kind can happen in the Middle East.
It is grimly ironic that Almaleki used a product of the West, a modern jeep, to murder his daughter for being too Westernized!
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