Honor Killings
Interview with Parvin Bakhtiarnejad
قتلهای ناموسی؛ فاصله ما با حقوق شهروندی
Urbanism, civility, and industrialization are regarded as pre-requisites for democratization. Some believe any attempt governments make to bring democracy to under-developed and non-industrialized societies with a majority rural population is a futile effort toward democratization and will produce, at best, a semi-democratic social order. Political and social scientists strongly believe that before any step is taken toward democracy, these societies must first be brought into the modern world, the culture of democracy must be developed. Once this groundwork is laid, people are able to gradually establish democracy and implement its principles and conventions.
The existence of certain ethnic and tribal beliefs in some parts of Iran, especially among some of its minority cultures, that contradict citizen’s rights is an indication of how far civil society activists must go to achieve democratization and human rights. Honor killings, which are routinely committed in many regions of Iran to supposedly defend the prestige and honor of the family and tribe, is an obvious measure of how far some Iranian ethnic groups and tribes are from civility and progress. Parvin Bakhtiarnejad, a researcher and an activist for the women’s movement, who has been studying and researching this subject for some time, answers Gozaar’s questions in this regard.
Parvin Bakhtiarnejad first studied the phenomenon of self-immolation among Iranian women and published her findings in a book. By studying and researching some incidents of honor killing, she now intends to find the roots of this observable fact and present a prescription for its remedy. In this interview she talks about her belief that cultural impoverishment and tribal beliefs are the main causes of this problem and the sad truth that more than 50 percent of these killings are committed based on false suspicions.
What kind of findings and questions motivated you to pursue the subject of honor killings as your study project?
In the past, when I heard about a girl or a woman being killed by her relatives, I used to believe these murders were mainly happening in one or two specific regions of Iran and only accidentally in other areas. I came across a few of these incidents while I was researching the subject of self-immolation by women. But when Jafari, the head of the Justice Department of Khuzestan, announced in one of his interviews that the statistics of honor killings are on the rise, I began my research on this subject.
What I first found out in this research project was that honor killings are not limited to one or two regions of our country. This phenomenon can be seen in various provinces. It even exists in Hamedan and is spreading as a silent and insidious threat. Both the legislators and the people define these murders as something that belongs to the private domain and try not to interfere in this area, whereas this phenomenon must be regarded and dealt with as a public dilemma. Honor killings happen in Azerbaijan, Kordestan, Kermanshah, Lorestan, Sistan-Baluchestan, Khuzestan and even Hamedan and Fars.
After one year of research, what do you believe are the roots of this phenomenon?
This phenomenon has many roots. The most important fact is that in this modern era women and girls have gradually been exposed to new communication technology, such as satellite TV and internet, and have become more aware of their individual and social rights. The expansion of education and the growth of social knowledge have placed women on the path to oppose traditional behavior. This advancement, in contrast with the incivility of tribal dogma, set the ground for a rise in these incidents.
The legal and traditional obstacles to “divorce” are also another reason for the increase of honor killings. In many cases in Kordestan women were only seeking a divorce, but the prohibition of divorce among the tribes of this region has resulted in honor killing.
The tradition of arranged marriage is another reason for the increase of these incidents. In the modern world people have choices, but in these societies women have no right to choose. So the clash between the tribal and modern culture elevates the level of this crime.
Women’s belief systems have changed with the help of higher education, internet resources, independent press, and the publication of many books about women. This change can be seen even in the most remote areas. The demand for legal equality is a serious pursuit these days. If women are denied such a right, they will continue to resist against inequality. When women are unable to change their conditions, they resort to self-immolation, or get killed, but still do not submit to the continuation of oppression.
Another painful truth is that in tribal societies it is the woman who has to make her man proud by observing every ethnic and tribal rule. Any deviation will insult the social pride of the man and tarnish his prestige. The belief is that only the blood of the woman can remove such shame. So there is a general suspicion toward women and any doubtful move can result in their murder. This cynicism not only is seen among husbands toward their wives, but among brothers toward their sisters and fathers toward their daughters.
The competitive attitude among ethnic and tribal societies makes even a minor breach significant. As soon as a rumor is spread about a girl or a woman, killing comes very quickly, without any attempt to find out if the rumor has any basis in truth. Studies show that over 50% of the rumors that led to murders were false.
My findings indicate that women no longer tolerate the malicious behavior in the family that usually gives the man his value. Women no longer submit to oppression and this in turn has increased the honor killings. On the other hand, women deprived of love and compassion are naturally attracted to other men when they show them the least kindness and empathy, and this sets the ground for their murder.
The theme of many films and serials broadcast by “Seda va Sima<” mostly involve love. Even in films made for religious events like “Moharam”, one of the main subjects is a love affair to attract the young audience. Watching love affairs makes women of these regions more inclined toward love, whereas they are deprived from these emotions inside their family.
What was the role of the law and legislators in the rise of these crimes? The subject of equality has made the need for change in the laws even more significant. But along with initiating new laws and establishing legal equality between men and women, a transformation of social association is an immediate urgency in these regions. In absence of just laws and sound social relations, a minor offense can easily lead to a woman’s death. When the law fails to protect women, the ground is ready for committing crimes. Article 630 of the Islamic penal codes gives men the right to kill their guilty wives without any retribution. It is because of these laws that women are sent to their graves even before making sure of their guilt. Legal shortcomings and tribal customs are two important reasons for honor killings. Which one do you believe plays a more important role in the rise of these crimes? Wrong social customs play a far more important role. The cultural environment of these societies gives value to these killings. So it is imperative to change these cultural norms. But the laws still have an important role in changing people’s outlook. The existence of an oppressive cultural environment must not give the legislator a reason to ignore his or her job. Protecting citizens is the duty of the law and lawmakers. So we must work on both issues, changing the law and the culture. We must not forget that throughout history these tribes have been out of favor with the governments of the time and have consequently been deprived of minimum opportunities and progress. These regions were, and continue to be, left to their own. Insufficient schools and the lack of suitable cultural and recreational centers have created an environment in which women do not dare to show up in those very few facilities. The trend of socializing is such that boys always want to dominate girls. Even younger brothers bully their older sisters. This is an accepted behavior in these regions. How do you evaluate the impact of mental and character disorders and the social status of these male murderers in committing these crimes? Since no research and scientific work has been done, there is no information showing the impact of mental and character disorders on this phenomenon. So a definitive answer is not possible. What is quite clear is that killing a sister or a mother is not something a human can comfortably do in normal circumstances. Wife killing is a different matter. Men can easily kill their wives when they see any violation. But it has been reported that in many cases men resort to drugs and alcohol to lose control before committing the murder of their sister or mother. This mostly happens among poor families, not to imply that this problem is exclusive to poor people. Some cases have been reported among middle class families in these regions too. In areas with a high Arab population this phenomenon is not limited to the uneducated, but even some educated and middle class individuals have committed these killings. Is there any tangible change in the pattern of honor killings? Some news indicate that wife killing is now seen more in the big cities, meaning more crimes of this nature are being triggered because of an increase in sexual relationships outside the home. Having relationships outside the home is widespread in big cities. As men get involved with multiple women, women are tempted to do the same. But there is no evidence showing this behavior is increasing honor killings in the big cities. It is quite possible that extra-marital relationships may have caused some murders, but since there are no statistics we cannot examine this correctly and no study has been done on this subject. As a researcher working on this subject matter for quite some time, what are your recommendations for controlling and correcting this situation? I first want to address the women’s movement and say we have not done enough work on the obstacles that women face living in remote areas. We must work on this subject more seriously and talk about it in the media in order to awaken public awareness to tackle this issue. Some work has begun, but a lot more needs to be done. Recently at a memorial service that was held in Marivan for a woman who was killed for asking for a divorce, 13,000 people showed up through the invitation of Kurdish women activists and voiced their protest against the murderer and those responsible for this crime. This kind of protest has not been seen in other places. The expansion of this kind of protest and public interference can help to solve the problem. The women’s movement must get involved in cases of women who cannot defend themselves. My other suggestion is to change the laws. Many of these crimes can be prevented by law, and ultimately, working to change the culture is another way to pave the way for comprehensive cultural growth. Finally, I would like to add that oppression and its consequences is a painful phenomenon in these regions. Its root must be found and eradicated as a serious obstacle and this is only possible through collective action.
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