Guest Commentary
By Aruna Pap
Mohammad Shafia, father of seven, a native of Afghanistan, arrived in Canada in 2007. On January 29, 2012, a jury found Mohammad, his second wife Tooba and their son Hamed guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Zainab 19, Sahar 17, Geeti 13 and Rona, 52, Mohammad's first wife. Three daughters murdered by their own parents and brother because two of them wanted to have boy friends and 13 year old Greeti wanted to pick her own clothes. Mr. Shafia was heard on police wire tap “Even if they come back to life a hundred times, if I have a cleaver in my hand, I will cut (her) in pieces. Not once but a hundred times, as they acted that cruel toward you and me." The cruel act of the teenage daughters was seen as being too westernized, wearing short shirts, having boyfriends and wanting to make decisions for them.
Rajinder Singh Atwal was found guilty of second-degree murder for stabbing his daughter Amandeep Atwal, 17, because she too had chosen to fall in love with a man her father did not approve off, a act, in the father's view, most shameful and worthy of murder.
Muhammad Parvez father and Waqas Parvez brother of Aqsa Parvez, 16, strangled her while her mother and several other members of the family were in the house. Both the men pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. All Aqsa wanted was a little privacy at home and friends of her choosing. Her greatest rebellious act was to refuse to marry the older man her family had picked for her. She rebelled against strict family tradition and they viewed this as bringing dishonour to her family name. For this she too was killed.
Jassi Sidhu fell in love and married, in secret, a man seen as of low social status. A most dishonourable thing to do in the view of her elders. In 2000 Jassi and her husband were attacked while traveling in Punjab, India. Mithu was severely beaten and seriously injured and Jessi's body was found the next day with her throat slit.
These cases will likely seem familiar because they have occurred in Canada, involving Canadian citizens, however, thousands of women around the world are regularly murdered by family members each year in the name of family “honour.”
Honour killings reflect long-standing patriarchal traditions in societies where women are viewed as vessels of family honour and the male members see themselves as protectors of this honour. In many cultures women are not valued except through their relationships to men, mainly as wives, sisters and mothers of sons. A girl or woman who refuses to abide by strictures set by the family patriarch, or defies him in choosing her own partner, is seen as shaming the family. A harsh punishment at the hands of the patriarch and/or her brothers is then regarded as necessary and is a fate they believe is triggered by the victim herself.
The “protector” must have complete control of the females. Typically, the killer is usually the father, husband or the brother of the victim. Honour killings are carried out to cleanse the family name and restore the family’s perceived lost honour. The killer’s deeds are not rogue as he has the tacit approval of the family. These killers typically do not have remorse in fact they are proud of having cleaned the family name of the stain of dishonour.
Honour Killings in Canada is just the tip of the iceberg, however. The larger epidemic is 'Honour Based Violence.' It can include, threats, confinement, starvation, pulling the girls out of school, sending them to the old country to live with relatives, forced marriages, early child marriages, abandonment in rural parts of the old country, hiring killers, rape and murder. In many instances, such oppressive conditions lead young women to despair and to suicide.
Honour Based Violence is not the same as domestic violence or Intimate Partner Violence. Service providers may at times confuse the warning signs for it, but those who understand the cultural context can see the distinction. It is important that service providers such as police officers, social workers, teachers and Children's Aid Society receive cultural competency training so that they can best identify the warning signs and help save the lives of young women in danger.
Aruna Papp is a research associate with the Frontier Centre. She is the author of Culturally-Driven Violence Against Women: A Growing Problem in Canada’s Immigrant Communities, available at www.fcpp.org. Her upcoming book, Unworthy Creature: A Daughter’s Memoir of Honour, Shame, and Love, is due next spring.
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