Last October, the successful Turkish academician Dicle Koğacıoğlu commited suicide leaving a note behind. “ There is too much pain, I cannot hold on” She was working on “honour killings” and how women are killed, tortured under the discourse of honour and decency, how religion is used as a weapon on women.It is true that Turkey is a modern country and has strong ties both with Europe and Middle East. But we can say that despite modernization we are trying to deal with problems based on old traditions such as honour killings and vendetta. It’s also true that today, people, especially women, die because of honour killings.
When you search on the internet, you cannot find an explanation for the term “honour killing”. Let me try to explain briefly. People especially women in some cases have not the right to choose the person they want to marry. They cannot disagree with the decision made by (tribal) family members upon their marriage, it is also admitted that women should not lose their virginity until the wedding night….
What if they do? What if they defend their right to choose? What if they don’t obey?
The answer is simple. They should be punished. Even with death.
In Turkey if someone rapes a women, the guiltiest person is the woman. She should marry the rapist, if not her fate is determined: death. A statistic made by Police Headquarters of Turkey shows that at least 1091 women died because of honour killings between 2000 – 2005. In 2008 Turkish Prime Ministry’s Human Rights Directorate’s report insists on the fact that at least one woman dies every week because of honour killings.
Tragically, the person who undertakes the “killing duty” is a relative. Father, brother, husband even a son sometimes. Do you know why they have choosen to kill? “To save their honour.” If a girl disobeys the rules or is touched in the case of a rape her honour is “dirty” and should be cleaned.
There are several reasons why honour killings are still going on. Tribal families have a very strong influence in some regions and this influence on people should be alleviated. Also Education is crucial to relieve “pressure inflicted by society”.Sure, this is mostly the state’s responsibility. The government should fight against the inhumane rules of tribal families. The state should also provide security to the people who want to escape from those traditions. The State should protect women, its citizens. Additionally, honour killings should be punished by law. Unfortunately, we still can not see the law being fair and strong. Perhaps one could mention the fact that the government mainly consists of men and therefore, sexism is reproduced.
A honour crime case was held in Diyarbakır Court in May 2009.The court reduced the punishment invoking “a result of the beliefs in the region”. According to the judge, “ If the family does not react its members might be alienated by the society”
We can see that the law differs according to the gender. For example a young girl, Rabia was compelled to marry her rapist. The man abused her for 13 years and she killed him. Her punishment was 24 years in prison.
Per Contra, Nurcan’s case is different. Her family decided to marry her with a man she didn’t want. She was having an affair with someone else but she couldn’t resist to marry. In the wedding night her husband realized she had lost her virginity. Family members decided to kill Nurcan to save their honour. Her husband’s brothers shot her 11 times. The court punished them only with 7 years in prison. Furthermore, the family also decided that Nurcan’s affair, Ferit, also had to die. To prevent “blood revenge” between families, Ferit’s 15 year old brother had the duty to kill his elder brother.
What is to think when a judicial system is sexist like this one?
Can’t we rightly think that if this system carries on more women will die in the name of “honour”?
“Honour killings” are not just Turkey’s problem. Nearly all countries in the Middle East are facing with those kinds of problems. A UNICEF report from 1999 shows that 2 in every 3 murders in Gaza relates to honour killings. Additionally, in Europe there are cases related to honour killings like Heshu Yones murdered by her father in London in 2002. Women there have no name, they are simply not considered as human beings.
The statistics are sad but they express the truth. Honour killings remain a must-be-solved issue.
United Nations, Women Rights Organizations and many other associations are working on honour killings trying to prevent them but still we need much more effort on this issue.
The conception of the human minds in tribal families should change and as Hannah Arendt says, “ The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be either good or evil.”
Gözde, is a foreign news correspondent lives in İstanbul, Turkey. She actually has her Bsc in engineering but couldn’t escape her passion in journalism. Her future aim is to work on Middle East issues. She spends her free time on traveling and photography.
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This is a very good and yet incredibly sad article. I’ve heard about honour killings and about punishment and abuse of women in several countries, justified by convetion of their society. The wife is basically property of the husband, and therefore he can do as he pleases. It’s horrible to think that that is still very much a fact and happening every day. I hope that it will change in the future, but it is always the hardest thing to try to change traditions, especially if they are related or inforced by religion.
It’s a really sad story. I wasn’t know honor killings was such as big problem before. I hope the problem caused by traditions can be fixed somehow. Please keep posted such informing articles.
1. the article creates the impression that the professor killed herself as a martyr or something, because of the suffering of women. this is nonsense. her suicide had nothing to do with it.
2. the article runs against the argument of that professor, who wrote in her article that ‘tradition’ is an invention and not the cause of honor crimes.
in short, you are on a double fault concerning Dicle Kogacioglu, let her rest in peace
I agree with Ozge. Your analysis would greatly benefit from actually reading the work of Dicle Kogacioglu on this subject, see The Tradition Effect: Framing Honor Crimes in Turkey, in differences (2004). For you to mis-use Kogacioglu’s name and death to further a representation of this issue that absolutely contradicts her analysis is really shameful.