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252 Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (KUJHSS)
Original Article |DOI: https://doi.org/10.14500/kujhss.v6n1y2023.pp252-258
1. INTRODUCTION
For thousands of years, honour killing has been
practiced in patriarchal societies as a means of
demonstrating male dominance. In traditional societies,
this has been the case for centuries. Recent attention has
been focused on its operations in some Middle Eastern
societies.
This research investigates how surviving an
attempted honour killing affects women in Erbil City,
Kurdistan.
Periodically, HK crime occurs involving everything
from torture to rape. This is dreadful not only for its
__________ ________________________________________________
Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences
(KUJHSS), Volume 6, Issue 1, 2023.
Received 19 Oct 2023; Accepted 11 Jan 2024,
Regular research paper: Published 5 May 2024
Corresponding author’s e-mail: hazha.salih@su.edu.krd
Copyright ©2023. Hazha M. Salih, this is an open access article
distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.
violence but because it involves family members as both
victims and perpetrators. Honour killing is the
murdering of a female member of a family by another
family member (usually a male) in the name of honour.
The murderer will claim that the victim brought
dishonour to the family. This is due to women usually
having affairs or wanting to marry a man from another
religion, clan, or because of the possibility she was
practicing sex before marriage or she was seen with her
boyfriend. The spilling of the blood of the victim is seen
as necessary to erase the shame she has brought to her
family by having an affair or sexual relationship outside
marriage (Joseph and Najmabadi, 2005).
Honour Killing has gained a lot of media coverage
over the years all over the world. It is a horrific crime
that some communities accept as part of their tradition.
However, to many in the countries of the western world
it is an unthinkable crime that needs to stay in the
media. This is in order to help make people especially
women aware of this awful crime as well as to help
establish groups to provide support for women who
have escaped this awful crime. Through support groups
Honor Killing in Erbil City; Social Factors
A Field Study
Hazha M. Salih
Department of Social Work, College of Arts, Salahaddin University Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq
____________________________________________________________________________________
ABSTRACT
Honour killing is one of oldest crime carried out in human’s history, mostly by men, especially in the Middle East
culture. Furthermore, honour killing is concerning issue, involve killing of individuals, typically women, by their
family members due to the belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonour to their family. It is essential to
identify the factor behind this crime in Kurdish society and work towards eliminating such harmful practices to
ensure the safety and dignity of all individuals, regardless of their gender or cultural background. It is important for
social science researchers to find out the factors behind this horrified crime, also how men see their honourand
dignity in women’s gender. In Kurdish society, Honour killing is social phenomenon as it has been increased in past
decade. The main question in this research is how social factors effected on increasing honour killing in Kurdistan/
Erbil City? Has Honour Killing become social phenomenon in Kurdish society? This research focuses on social
factors like religion, culture, family reputation and status affecting honour crimes in Kurdistan. Although prior
research has addressed academic efforts to address this issue, it is still important to regularly investigate the social
factors of HK as a contribution to reduction initiatives while the continuation of HK harms democratization process
in general and women rights in particular. This topic is also related to Kurdish structure and social system of
Kurdistan. Despite the legal progress related to women rights, the HK rate is still considerably high. Overall, all
interviewees believed that cultural factors are the main causes for the continuation of HK.
KEYWORDS: Honour Killing, Social factors, Culture, Social Structure.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (KUJHSS)
Original Article |DOI: https://doi.org/10.14500/kujhss.v6n1y2023.pp252-258
253
and with the growing media interest Honour Killing has
been established as a horrific crime that is in need of an
effective resolution and punishment.
Importance of this research:
This research is crucial because it examines the impact
of surviving an attempted Honour Killing (HK) on
women in Erbil City, Kurdistan, shedding light on an
important and sensitive issue that can inform
interventions and support mechanisms.
Top of Form
This topic is related to Kurdish structure and social
system of Kurdistan. According to the statistics
provided by the Directorate Combating Violence
Against Women (DCVAW), the prevalence of Honour
killings is on the rise, despite the implementation of new
laws in the Kurdistan Region Government (KRG) and
ongoing developmental initiatives aimed at advancing
Kurdistan and enhancing public awareness. The data
further highlights that between the years 2010 and 2020,
a total of 490 women lost their lives due to honor
killings, while an additional 612 women resorted to self-
immolation. These figures underscore the persistence of
the issue, emphasizing the need for continued efforts in
addressing and preventing Honour -based violence.
(Ghazi, 2022).
Research objectives:
The current study examines reasons of honour killing
in Erbil by identifying the causes and social factors of
Honour Killing. It will identify the factors which
promote and maintain honour killing. In addition, this
research focuses on social factors like religion, culture,
family reputation and status effecting on Honour Crimes
in Kurdistan.
Research Questions:
The main research of the current research is "What are
the social factors influencing Honour Killing in Erbil
City?". Within the scope of this research on Honour
Killing in Erbil City and its social factors, In order to
explore different aspects of the overarching inquiry,
specific sub-questions have been formulated:
1. How do professionals or experts identify common
social factors related to honour killing?
2. What is the expert's perspective on the reasons for
honour killings?
3. What do experts think considering HK cases?
Literature Review:
Recently Honour Crimes have increased especially in
the Middle East. In order to rid the man/ family or
communal fund of this embarrassment and to restore
honour, the female offenders must be punished.
Furthermore, Araji (2000) argued that feminist and other
social scientists believe the victimization of females as
gender-based violence is due to females' having a lower
social status in society than men do. Social institutions in
societies impacted by HK support a patriarchal structure
as they give men the right to control women. This is
carried out at the individual, group or institutional level.
Honour killings and punishments towards women
have been documented over many centuries among a
wide variety of ethnic and religious groups throughout
the world. Haviland, Walrath, Prins and McBride
(2008:236) state that anthropologists have identified
honour traditions in many parts of the world, especially
in remote traditional herding and farming societies
where the power of the political state is either absent or
ineffective. Typically, women who are accused of having
sex with someone other than their husbands are killed
by their husbands when they are accused of having sex
with someone other than their husbands. It is a
phenomenon that occurs even in the Kurdish diaspora
when a woman is killed simply because she is in love.
Moreover, honour killings have been committed for
thousands of years up to the present date in almost all
cultures in the Middle East, in Asia and even more
progressive countries such as the UK. There is one
outstandingly important similarity among communities
that practice honour killings. This is that women are
men’s property and have a direct impact on men’s
honour and reputation, just as the actions of a child
reflect on its parents’ character, so does ones wife,
mother and sisters. In other words they are seen as
exclusively the property of men.
History of Honour Killing:
It is important to focus on the history of honour
killing and where the idea was occurred. By looking at
history and background of honour killing, would be at
ease to find out social factors behind it.
To begin with, Marzany (2009: 122) stated that
Honour killing was mentioned in Hammurabi’s Law
(1750-1729 B.C). He was widely punishing women who
had an affair without their husbands consent. This law
indicates why for many generations honour killing has
occurred in the Middle East and is still continuing at the
present time.
The most common rationale used to justify the abuse
and killing of women is the notion that one's honour is
dependent on the behaviour of others. This conception is
distinct from the notion that honour depends only on
individual behaviour This concept differs from the idea
that honour depends solely on an individual's actions. In
order to maintain one's self-esteem and status in the
community, one must pay close attention to the
behaviour of others.
In Schneider's (1968:2) interpretation of honour, it is
regarded as "the ideology of a power group struggling
254 Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (KUJHSS)
Original Article |DOI: https://doi.org/10.14500/kujhss.v6n1y2023.pp252-258
to define, extend and protect its patrimony in a
competitive environment".
Historically, this type of honour has been found in
many patriarchal societies. It is the honour of the tribe,
clan, or family which determines the status and
acceptance of an individual in traditional societies. The
honour of the tribe, clan, or family is highly affected by
the behaviour of the female members. It is not the case in
traditional societies that women are entitled to honour
as individuals, independent of their roles within their
families, clans, or tribal groups. In particular, their
actions as individuals, particularly when they engage in
actual or perceived sexual misconduct, only serve to
discredit others. Nevertheless, it is not only sexual
misconduct, but any act of misbehavior on the part of
female members that can bring dishonour and shame to
the male members of the community, lineage, or family
(Kandiyoti, 2002:322). In order to prevent dishonour
from occurring, the honour ideology is enforced through
systematic control of women's social and especially
sexual behavior. In traditional societies, this places
women in a very dangerous position.
As far as religion factors concern, as Kurdish society
majority are Muslim, in this research briefly highlighted
about religion factors behind honour killing. It is
established by Islamic law that when punishing the
parties involved in adultery, both men and women are
equally guilty and consequently suffer the same
punishment as they are deemed to be guilty and
punished equally by Islamic law. Islam has a very strict
and straightforward stance in regards to crimes of
honour. In the Holy Quran, it is stated, "Those who
accuse chaste women and do not present four witnesses
for their accusation will receive eighty lashes and they
will not be accepted as witnesses after that" (Surat Noor:
350). As a result of these statements, Muslims cannot
simply accuse others of adultery or punish them for
such a crime without providing evidence to support
their accusations.
Regardless of this improvement, there are millions of
women who still suffer from domestic violence, forced
marriages, their lives being threatened, and/ or sexual
assault. As this suggests, even now there are places
where women’s human rights are denied (Peters and
Wolper 1995:3-22). In Iraqi Kurdistan the social position
of women has been improving significantly since the
Kurdistan region’s government changed the law about
women’s right. The Kurdish government offer
accommodation to women whose lives have been
threatened by providing them with protection from their
families. Also, many Iraqi women suffer from
oppressions, which affect them in all facets of their lives,
including culturally, legally, socially, economically, and
politically (Ahmed, 2021). Overall, women’s lives have
seen significant improvement across the world during
the last century. There has been a revolution of women’s
movements internationally. This evolution has remade
history by changing women’s roles.
Reform in Kurdistan’s Regional Government:
Between 1991-1992 KRG has separate regional
Government. Subsequently, after Kurdistan obtained
their freedom, some laws were reformed and changed to
suits modern society and took an action for protecting
women’s rights.
It is believed that there are over hundreds of women’s
organizations that were launched by the KRG or other
Non-Government Organizations to fight against
violence towards women and protect their rights.
Furthermore, these organizations raise people’s
awareness, through activities such as campaigning and
training. They also provide legal support to women and
psychological help to survivors of various forms of
abuse, such as from burning, killing or domestic
violence. On the other hand, as a result of this reform,
social, economic and cultural changes have occurred in
the society (Bagikhani, 2010). Yet, these changes have
had positive as well as negative impacts upon people;
there has been a deviation in the behaviour of members
of the community. Despite all the advantages of
technology like satellites, the internet and mobiles,
technology has been misused by some people, and as a
result cyber-bullying has occurred. Unfortunately,
actions such as capturing women’s images, without their
knowledge, and publishing them on YouTube or other
social networks, has resulted in the killing of many
innocent women. Therefore, despite the political and
social progress previously mentioned there are still
significant problems in Kurdistan such as honour killing
as the attitudes which support honour killing still
remain prevalent in such societies.
Honor killings are considered inexcusable crimes by
the Kurdistan Regional Government and are categorised
as acts of violence. According to the Kurdistan
Parliament's Law No 3 (2015), special punishments will
not be imposed against those who commit honour-
related killings under article 40 of the Iraqi Penal Code,
which provided for reduced penalties when these crimes
are committed. As opposed to federal laws, the laws of
the KRI define honour-killings as premeditated
murders, which are punishable with heavy
punishments, including life sentences, for those who
commit them. There is a sense of solidarity between the
KRG and its international counterparts, as the latter are
committed to demonstrating critical democratic values
and embodying good governance. In the Regional
Action Plan for Human Rights (2021-2025), the KRG
acknowledges there is a continuing commitment from
the UK to improve the competence and capacity of
judges and prosecutors within the KRG and appreciates
its continued support Considering the challenges,
Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (KUJHSS)
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255
stability, and security of their citizens, KRG counterparts
anticipate further constructive, bilateral engagement
(GOV.KRD,2023). Also, KRG has provided shelters to
Women whose lives are threatened by their families can
find accommodation under the Kurdish government's
protection program. On the other hand, Ahmed ( 2021)
believed that despite the lack of departments to gather
information, and the variety of mechanisms used to
conduct honour killings, it is evident that the number of
honour killings is considerable as presented. It is also
impossible to track all aspects of the crimes. It is
common for criminals to fabricate and misleading cases
in order to escape the laws, but Iraq's/ KRI’s legal
system is unable to deal with this issue, so the legal
system follows cultural and tradition norms in response
to the situation, providing cultural justification to the
perpetrators.
Methodology:
In this research, the researcher has used semi
structured interviews, as it is believed to be the most
suitable method for gaining information by the
participants. This is because during interview extra
information or more questioning will come up to add
more details to the research and more beneficial for the
research (Bryman, 2012). The researcher has carried out
individual interview one to one (face to face). The
duration of each interview was between 45-60 minutes.
Verbal consents were obtained to record their voices
through recorder. Then, after data collection, The
researcher transcribed all the intervieews interviews and
archived considering ethical measurements so that the
records are untraceable.
The researcher chose the research sample in Erbil city,
the participants were (purposeful sampling). I have
chosen this type of sample because in qualitative
research depends on this type of sample (Bryman, 2012).
I only interviewed nine participants because I have
gained enough information to cover all the parts of this
research. The participants were five male and four
female. They were experts in sociology, social work
(faculties at the university) and officers in Directorate
combating violence against women DCVAW. The
researcher has used thematic analysis (Bryman, 2012),
the researcher identified most commonly repeated
themes including family reputation, culture and
patriarchal society.
Also transmitted documents has been used to obtain
historical background about HK in Kurdistan and new
HK data record in Kurdistan. However, due to the
sensitivity of the subject, many victims of domestic
violence do not report domestic abuse (Rafiq, 2010).
Ethical Issues:
Given the nature of the Kurdish society and the
sensitivity of the topic, this research could potentially
put the researcher in a dangerous position. We have
carried out my research in Erbil, the capital city of
Kurdistan. Erbil is a modern city where the law is more
adhered to, compared to other cities in Iraq. This is due
to having a greater feminist and women’s groups in the
city, as well as having many female MPs in Kurdistan
Regions Government (KRG), who have helped establish
a very positive impact on women’s freedom in Erbil.
When carried out my research project, I paid attention
to the following ethical issues:
Sensitivity - the issue of honour killing is a sensitive
issue that needs to be treated with caution.
Data Protection - ensured the information I gather is
not accessible to others and ensured the protection of
participants’ anonymity and confidentiality.
Safety – When carrying out research on this topic,
many issues may arise that can jeopardise my safety. Lee
(1993:1) stated that doing research on sensitive subjects
has potential effects on the researcher’s personal life and
security, as they may face problems and issues during
data collection, methodological, ethical or legal. I have
undertaken a risk assessment, to ensure that my own
safety is not compromised.
Confidentiality: As it is essential that researchers
should not pass on identifiable data to anyone without
participants' consent, any research carried out should
guarantee anonymity and confidentiality. The researcher
has kept the identities of their interviewees private. The
coding process was used for example, A1, A2, A3, A4 for
experts in sociology department. For social work
department following code B1, B2, B3, and for officers in
Directorate combating violence against women
(DCVAW) C1 and C2.
Personal and Professional elements - Professional
values are largely guided and maintained by the
established ethical principles of a profession. In addition
to this professional aspect of ethics is the personal
aspect. The personal aspect, motivates decision making
based on one’s own conscience. Personal values can play
a significant role in protecting the integrity of ones
enquiries through careful data collection and analysis, as
well as accurate and objective reporting of research
finding. I was careful to protect the human rights of
individuals when taking into consideration the women’s
personal experiences as they have survived honour
killing.
Finding and Discussion
Q1: What are the causes and factors of Honour Killing
in Kurdistan?
Based on the nine interviews the researcher has
carried out with experts in Erbil, all interviewees
256 Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (KUJHSS)
Original Article |DOI: https://doi.org/10.14500/kujhss.v6n1y2023.pp252-258
believed that social structures of Kurdish society
encourage HK in Kurdistan. Furthermore, they believed
that cultures of Kurdish society mixed with other
Middle East countries culture like Iranian, Turkish and
Arabic countries, Kurdish society has been affected and
influenced by their culture. These countries culture
encourages HK. Also, three experts believed that Some
factors contributing to honour killing include refusal of
an arranged marriage, seeking divorce, sexual
orientation, gender identity, gender expression, sex
characteristics, and victims of rape and early marriage
causes infidelity which leads to honour killing (A1,
B1,B3). Furthermore, one (C1) of the expert added to
above points, extra important points, like: having
different ideologies between husband and wife could
lead arguments and not finding half way of discussion
that pushes women to burn herself and kill herself. Plus,
this expert believes that according to research she has
read about connection between burning themselves and
changing hormones before, during or after
menstruation. As they added more details about this, by
saying according to that research which was carried out
in Emergency hospital in Erbil, some women who tried
to burn themselves were interviewed they have
mentioned they were pre, on-period or after. So, this
changing hormone leads to arguments between them
and cause HK. Last interview, the interviewee
highlighted some important points about factors and
locations of HK in Kurdistan. He stated that since 2008
he has been working with HK cases, in the past more
HK cases use to be in small towns and villages, but since
2014 due to Syrian immigrants and IDP people came to
Kurdistan, HK rates has been increased in big cities (A1).
Last but not least, all experts believed that the most
common methods of killing include stoning, stabbing,
beating, burning, beheading, hanging, throat slashing,
lethal acid attacks, shooting and strangulation.
Unfortunately, one of the expert gave an example about
some cases were reported as committing suicide or car
accident while they were killed by their male family
member (C2). Furthermore, she mentioned that some
cases were forced to write a letter to admit they will
commit suicide and then they were provided petrol and
fire to burn themselves that to be reported as suicide
while its forced Honour killing.
Q2: To what extent culture has impact upon HK in
Kurdistan?
All nine experts believed that culture and social
structure of Kurdish society contribute to encouraging
honour killing. One of the expert (B3) believes that
Kurdish culture has rapidly changed since 2003 with the
further development of technology, more access to
internet by majority of people in Kurdish society among
different levels and ages of people. Because of this rapid
social change, leaded to having different other cultures
mixed with Kurdish culture and made Kurdish
patriarchal society to be reduced and having more
globalization and modern ideas in Kurdistan. In their
opinion, these changes made fade away slowly
patriarchal activity. As a consequence, the concept of
Honour killing noticeably reduced in Kurdish society
especially among younger generation. In the other word,
love affair is more accepted, and infidelity is more dealt
with by law instead of family males taking an action.
More importantly, in the last 2 decades the culture of
Kurdish society has been changed and new law set
punishment for those who commit crime under the
name of HK. Plus, it is important to note that culture,
social norms and community pressure play a significant
role in perpetuating honour killings. The failure to
conform to these norms and culture can result in social
ostracism, rejection, and even violence from one's own
family and community. In some cases, individuals are
hesitant to challenge the prevailing cultural practices
because of fear of being cast out or stigmatized.
One of the expert (C2) believed that social media and
mixing other cultures like Turkish series or movies or
different social Media’s bloggers background and
culture encouraged women and girls to follow them and
copy their behaviours which these not accepted by their
family, these could lead to HK too.
Q3: To what extent patriarchal society in Kurdistan
contribuess to HK? How?
All experts/ interviewees believed that the structure
of Kurdish society is patriarchal society, Gender
inequality gives men all power and become decision
maker at home. If female member in family love
someone, or having a fair, even expressing their ideas
can lead to HK. Regardless this male member is holding
high qualifications or positions still not accepting
opposed idea or modernity from their wife, sister or
daughter. Furthermore, they believe that Family and
community reputation: In some cultures, the reputation
and honour of the family and community are considered
of utmost importance. If any behaviour is perceived to
bring shame or dishonour on the family, such as
disobedience, premarital sex, extramarital affairs, or
choosing a partner against family wishes, an extreme
response is likely to occur in order to restore the family's
honour.
Q4: Do you think family class or family status
effecting HK? How?
Eight experts (A1,A2,A3,B1,B2,B3,C1,C2)believed that
family class and reputation is very important in Kurdish
society. Having good family status among people is
making this family not accepting mistakes from their
female member. Moreover, being a head of tribe or Agha
in Kurdistan makes you to have a famous name among
people, if one female member in family love someone
outside the area or family could lead to HK. Sometime
Koya University Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences (KUJHSS)
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257
the head of tribe or family does not want to commit this
crime but he is surrounded by other males pushing him
to agree to kill her. On the other hand, one of the experts
believed that high class families are dealing with the
situation differently, for example she knew someone
regardless having a fair and love outside their marriage,
but this was acceptable by partner because they were
from rich family each time their partner was travelling
to outside Kurdistan, was bringing expensive gifts
which made her to accept this a fair. If this situation was
from poor family would not be accepted and could lead
to argument and divorce or HK. The last interviewee
(C2) has stated that he attended one of the investigations
about HK case in Erbil city in 2014, the father killed his
daughter under his family’s pressure to clean his
honour. According to doctor’s report the victim was
innocent, once the investigation was carried out based
on victim’s statemen, eyewitness and crime evidence the
criminal father was informed that his daughter was
innocent did not commit any adultery as she was still
virgin. Once the father heard this statement, he started
shouting and accusing his family and brother to push
him to clean family’s reputation by kill his daughter.
Q5: To what extent lack of social awareness increased
rate of HK in Kurdistan?
The lack of social awareness in Kurdistan in regard of
gender, is one of the reason of HK in Kurdistan. All
experts believed that Kurdish society likes having boys
rather than girls, this makes them to give male power
and control over female. Two of experts believed that
regardless of having over 300 NGO’s in Kurdistan, but
still the rate of HK has increased, these NGO’s are not
doing their job properly by delivering social awareness
about gender, human’s right and women’s equality.
However, 7 experts believed that now a days KRG’s new
rules and regulations for those who commits HK
decreased the rate of HK in Kurdistan. Also, they
believed that during the past decade, the social position
of women has improved significantly in Iraqi Kurdistan
since the Kurdistan region's government changed the
law regarding women's rights.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, With all the information and data
obtained, I have a better understanding of why honour
killings continue to take place in Kurdistan and how
KRG has changed people's perceptions of honour
killings.
For honour killings to be effectively combated, it is
essential to address these social factors through
education, legal reforms, and raising awareness
about gender equality and human rights. In order to eliminate
honour killing, it is necessary to change social attitudes and
promote gender equality. Kurdistan regional Government’s
new policy against honour killing was obtained and
evaluated its level of success in reducing honour killing
and changing the attitudes which underpin this practice.
Many women lost their lives due to this crime
(Honour killing) as male members of their families have
taken it upon themselves to end their lives. To
summaries, find out ‘why does honour killing occur?’
and ‘why is it allowed to occur? In the middle east
culture especially Kurdish society, the reputation and
honour of the family and community are highly valued.
It is possible for a family to react in an extreme manner
to any behaviour believed to bring shame or dishonour
upon the family, such as disobedience, premarital sex,
extramarital affairs, or choosing a partner against the
wishes of the family.
Moreover, honour killing is a phenomenon that has
been prevalent throughout the world for many years.
Numerous catalysts influence how many honour killings
are carried out in each region depending on the culture,
religion, and political climate, along with maleness and
patriarchy. Due to the fact that their behaviour is viewed
as justified, the perpetrators often do not suffer negative
stigma within their communities. A traditional Kurdish
social structure includes the threat of death to remove
stains of dishonour, which serves as a preventive
measure to prevent a woman from damaging the
family's reputation. In order to wash away the
dishonour, the woman is allowed to be killed by her
brother, her husband, or her father.
Finally, there are a number of different types of
'honour crimes', most commonly murder, but they can
also include physical abuse, confinement, control of
movement, deprivation of education, forced marriage,
forced suicide, and public dishonouring.
To conclude, the fight against honour killing requires
some specific steps. First, Iraq must constitutionalize
and nationalize the rights that have been outlined in
international treaties and conventions, and it should not
be permitted to normalize honour killing under the
guise of cultural, religious, or traditional justifications.
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