Assessing The Issues of Honour and Violence Against Women: A Human Rights Discourse Framework for The Detection of Violence Against Women

Abstract

The term 'Honour Killing' is conventionally used to denote a specific category of extralegal killings where the act of murder is seen to have been motivated by pre-modern affiliations/sentiments of some sort. Acts of violence committed against people for marrying outside of caste/religion/ethnicity or other similar infringements where they are seen by their actions to have besmirched the honour of the family and the larger community come under the broad rubric of honour crime. Implicit in using the term are assumptions that mark it as different from other crimes. Honour is defined in terms of women assigned sexual and familial roles as dictated by traditional family ideology. Thus, adultery, premarital relationships (which may or may not include sexual relations), rape, and falling in love with an "inappropriate" person may constitute violations of family honour. 'Crimes of honour' as a form of violence against women does not imply that men also are not subjected to such crimes. In cases of forced marriage or interference with the right of choice and whom to marry, pressure from older family members over younger members will apply to men as well as to women. However, women remain the victims and survivors of 'crimes of honour' and have fewer available remedies.