Family Honor Research Articles

Declinare l'identità albanese tra categorie universali e categorie etiche

In this paper we will consider social and cultural markers that have traced the identity boundaries of Albanian nation. We will focus on two different types of identity markers: universal categories, such as ethnicity, language and religion, and ethical categories such as personal and family honor, respect, hospitality, courage, right conduct. In a different way, they all contributed to declining the identity of the people and legitimizing the formation of the state.

HIDDEN AND MULTIPLE VICTIMIZATION: FORCED MARRIAGE IN TURKEY

Aim: Forced marriages are the marriages in which one or both spouses do not give consent to the marriage. Violence, threats, or any other form of coercion is involved to actualize the marriages and cause multiple victimization. Victims of forced marriages may be women, men, girls and boys. The subject of the victimization may be all types of violence. This study aims to evaluate and to raise the awareness of the professionals who work in the field, and to suggest solutions to prevent the forced marriages. Materials and Methods: In the study, a total of 296 people (66% women and 34% men), who work in the fields in Mersin, Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa and Istanbul provinces where the risk factor is high, were surveyed; and workshops were organised with them. The survey results were analysed by using the SPSS 20 statistical program. Results: The survey was applied to the professionals working in the field. Only 46% of participants correctly answered the question about the age of marriage with parental consent. 10% of the participants stated that they look positively to the marriage of those under the age of 18. 9 out of 100 people working in the field do not see child marriage as a type of forced marriage. 32% of the employees in the field specified that they do not know where to apply in case of the danger of forced marriage. Conclusion: The main factors lead to forced marriage may be specified as lack of education, customs and traditions, family honour, economic reasons, migration, social and family pressure on parents, and domestic violence. Forced marriages have significant negative impacts especially for young women. Trainings of the professionals will be the first step of solving the problem. The next step will be defining forced marriage as a criminal offence in Turkey.

Gender Struggle Within Complex Religious Realities: Druze Women in Israel as a Case Study

Druze society in Israel is culturally close to the general Arab society, particularly in terms of language and social norms, such as the importance of family honor. Druze society is relatively more conservative, due to its geographic isolation in a rural environment; the limited access to religious scriptures, which are only allowed to be read by religious people; and the lack of new formal interpretation of these scriptures. These unique religious characteristics burden Druze women and limit their sphere of action in their struggle against oppression. The current manuscript argues that while there is no formal structure that allows women to fight patriarchy in Druze society, many Druze women wage daily struggles for their basic rights. These struggles lead to a change in the social norms, and thus to a transformation of rural social behaviors. This manuscript focuses on two main fields in which these struggles take place: the struggle to realize women’s personal choices in issues like choosing their friends and realizing their sexuality, and the struggle for a greater mobility. The findings reveal two key strategies employed by these women: istighāba—realizing sexual desires in a hidden domain to avoid sanction, and bargaining with their family to expand their mobility.

Socioeconomic Determinants of Caste-based Endogamy: A Qualitative Study

The present study is aimed at exploring the socioeconomic determinants and implications of caste-based endogamous marriages in Punjab, the most populous province in Pakistan. The data for this study were collected from a sample of 24 participants (14 males and 10 females), who were married-within-caste, with diverse socioeconomic, educational, and geographic backgrounds. This study found social pressure, protection of family honor, geographic propinquity, and caste-based stereotyping as key social factors reinforcing endogamous marriages in the province. Finally, the desire to avoid distribution of family’s economic resources like property and land was found to be a leading economic determinant of caste-based endogamy. Further, endogamy hinders economic mobility of lower castes since economic capitals such as land and property are preserved through this marital practice.

Saling Jaga Atas Pelecehan Seksual di Tempat Publik

<em>Sexual harassment is still considered irrelevant to voice, let alone to fight for. People tend to put more concerns on family honor, and even consider sexual harassment as a shameful act and degrading their family’s name. Apart from at home, sexual harassment also often occurs in public places—public transportation, workplaces, schools, and other public facilities. Saling Jaga is a forum that voices concerns on sexual harassment that occurs in public spaces, and is the result of a collaboration amongst 3 undergraduate programs, (1) Law, (2) Communication Studies, and (3) Visual Communication Design, at President University. Saling Jaga forms a team that is hailed as Guardians. The purpose of this movement is to raise the awareness of everyone who witnesses sexual harassment in public places and has the courage to look after each other (bystander intervention) through activities in the form of socialization on Instagram social media, exhibition installations, and seminars to secondary schools in Kuningan.</em>

Religious and Mizrahi Identities in Lehava and in Its Struggle to Maintain the Honor of the Jewish Family

Lehava is an extreme right-wing Israeli movement that attracts mostly traditional Mizrahi youth; its stated goal is to combat intermarriage. The article addresses the following questions: What attracts members to the organization? How does it operate? Where is it located within the Israeli ethno-national sphere? And where should it be positioned in a global comparative view? Research methods included participant observation, ethnographic interviews and a survey of social media. It was found that Lehava combines modes of activity typical of Israeli Haredi organizations devoted to combating intermarriage with those of extreme right-wing urban movements. Three dominant discourses were identified among supporters: a militant-nationalist discourse concerning Arab men, a therapeutic discourse used when referring to the members themselves and to the women they are seeking to “save,” and a religious discourse that supports the other two. Attitudes identified among religious Mizrahi Jews in Israel were found to be prominent in Lehava as well. It is also asserted that the organization’s resistance to intermarriage with Arabs can be explained as an attempt to preserve “family honor.” A comparative analysis underscored how the religious and therapeutic discourses, alongside the ethnic identity of members, differentiate Lehava from Western fascist movements and point to affinities with Eastern European and Muslim extremist organizations.

Aspectos de la vida burguesa en Santa Cruz de La Palma a mediados del siglo XIX. El abogado Antonio de las Casas López y su familia

On the island of La Palma, the surname De las Casas is an example of a bourgeoisie that has evolved, over three generations, from rustic and tenant farmers of the island’s oligarchy, in the second half of the 18th century, to urban, commercial and dedicated to the liberal professions in the 19th century. This article is based on the «Antonino Pestana Rodríguez» documentary collection (El Museo Canario) to study some aspects of the social and private life of the lawyer Antonio de las Casas López and his family in the mid-nineteenth century. The result is a behavior of the bourgeois characterized by the coexistence, in matters such as the path to marriage, social promotion and family honour, of modern mental attitudes together with other typical attitudes of the Old Regime society

Военная культура в героических сказаниях народов Сибири и Дальнего Востока

The paper studies the military culture of indigenous peoples in heroic epos of the Tungus-Manchurian, Ob-Ugric, and Paleo-Asiatic peoples. The Evenk folklore reflects the period of wars with Changites and Deptygirs. The descriptions of the bogatyrs’ battles with enemies show a special formula condemning the confrontation. High-status characters warn the warriors of their responsibility to the spirits for the destruction. In Chukchi and Koryak folklore, some peoples unite to fight against others for land and deer herds. The heroes protect the community and family honor by following the custom of blood feuds. There are still legends about wars and ancestors’ attempts to make a truce. The main Khanty and Mansi heroic tales are about the military campaigns for matchmaking or blood feuds, fights for deer, and territorial claims, the plots often ending with a peace agreement. Also, the battle could be for deer herds, grazing, prisoners, often resulting in bloodshed. One enemy would be left alive to inform tribesmen about the end of the war. The legends describe peace agreements confirmed by a joint meal. Folklore translates the peaceful life value and condemns war. The relations of Siberian and Far Eastern ethnic groups have been developing for centuries. They share the history of struggle for territories and resources, marriage and trade relations, heroic competitions. Northern ethnic legends tell about the contacts and wars with the nearest neighbors and the importance of peaceful coexistence. The folklore descriptions of military ethics and formulas calling for peace form a culture of inter-ethnic interaction.

Modern Arab Women and Traditional Morality

This study uses a descriptive–analytical methodology, based on a postmodern deconstructive feminist approach, to analyze the struggle of modern Arab women fighting against patriarchal biases, violence, and the hypocritical morality system that dominate most tribal Arab societies. Applications for the study are taken from major Arab contemporary novels that continue to create strong independent female characters to expose the misogynistic nature of selected traditional tribal Arab societies. Many of these characters challenge the existing tribal moral codes that incite physical and psychological violence against women who are suspected of violating accepted social and cultural codes of family honor. The study highlights that the existing morality system is biased and unjust, resulting in the continuous subordination and manipulation of women. The analysis also reveals that modern Arab women challenge the hegemony of the long-standing and traditional patriarchal system, fight for an equal distribution of social rights and responsibilities, and reject any form of psychological and physical violence inflicted on women under a misguided masculine system of honor.

“My father told me ‘child, there is no son in this house, so you should wear these boy clothes’”: perspectives on gender norms, roles, and bacha posh among Afghan migrant women in Melbourne, Australia

ObjectivesIn Afghanistan, strong son preferences render women with lower social capital. A practice was created to overcome this gender bias, known as bacha posh, which literally translates to ‘dressing up as a boy’. This exploratory study aims to understand gender roles, identities, and experiences of Afghan women in order to understand why this cultural practice has arisen. DesignUtilising a social constructivist approach, qualitative data was collected from Afghan migrant women in Melbourne, Australia, using semi-structured in-depth interviews (n=10) and a group discussion (n=1). The interviews were conducted in Dari, translated and transcribed to English and thematically analysed using NVivo 12. ResultsKey findings identified include the perception of an easy transition for girls to become and return from being bacha posh, community members knowing bacha posh are girls but concealing the truth to maintain family honour, and societal and familial son preferences playing a significant role in becoming bacha posh. Most participants perceived bacha posh to be an unnecessary practice, but understood that it may be an act of desperation forced upon them by the rigidity of Afghan society. ConclusionsThis exploratory analysis makes an important contribution to understanding gender roles, identities and bacha posh in Afghanistan, and is the first qualitative study exploring how gender roles and norms in Afghanistan have led to the bacha posh phenomenon. Exploring how social and gender norms and son preferences contribute to the emergency of bacha posh is critical to understand challenges faced by this group, and how these power structures influence daily living.

Coercion

Coercion involves two or more parties who are in conflict and whose relationships are complex and uneasy. Generally speaking, people resent coercion and, when possible, rebel against it. This paper differentiates between circumstantial coercion and person-based coercion, between coercion and brute forms of oppression, and between benevolent and malevolent coercion. Government interference to combat murder for family honour serves as a clear example of benevolent coercion. The paper further discusses the coercer’s intentions and specifically addresses the issues of paternalistic coercion, coercion via third-party, and self-coercion. Two further distinctions are offered: between internalised and designated coercion, and between coercion enforced by a minority versus coercion imposed by a majority.

Socio-Cultural Implications of Son Preference: A Case of Danyor, Gilgit

The study deals with the dilemma of son preference and its causes and consequences. The fieldwork was conducted in village 'Danyor' in Gilgit-Baltistan, for the period of six months. Socio-economic survey was conducted from seventy-five households, detailed in-depth interviews were taken from thirty respondents in addition to 35 case studies. The field findings revealed the prevailing perceptions are sons as powerful and socially strong, owner and successor of family property, old age security for parents, symbol of prestige, custodian of family strength and honor etc. On the contrary, daughters are considered as burden of dowry and financial dependency on parents. The study concludes that son preference results in many discriminatory practices against female child such as abortion of female fetus, high infant mortality, lower status of daughters bearing mother in the family, short birth spacing, high probability of husband's remarriage and increased chances of being divorced.

Battling Marriage Laws: Early Marriage and Online Youth Piety in Indonesia

Abstract Indonesia has long faced issues relating to child marriages. This article will focus on the approaches taken by diverse parties to the issue of early marriage, including the government, civil society organisations, and young Indonesians themselves. Indonesia has witnessed the growth of online campaigns spearheaded by conservative Muslim youth promoting early marriage to prevent zina (adultery and fornication). Previously, the practice of early and child marriage was closely interconnected to rural areas, poverty, patriarchal norms, family honour, and low-level access to education. Today, early marriage does not exclusively relate to low socio-economic populations in rural areas; instead, emerging trends demonstrate that middle-class youth in urban areas professing to return to the true path of their religion are also turning to early marriage. These tech-savvy generations are aligning honour with piety in order to justify the decision to marry young, impacting on the ongoing battle against early marriage in the country.

Tales in Context: Sefer ha-ma'asim in Medieval Northern France by Rella Kushelevsky (review)

Reviewed by: Tales in Context: Sefer ha-ma'asim in Medieval Northern France by Rella Kushelevsky Susan L. Einbinder Rella Kushelevsky. Tales in Context: Sefer ha-ma'asim in Medieval Northern France. With a historical epilogue by Elisheva Baumgarten. Translations by Ruchie Avital and Chaya Naor. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 2017. 816 pp. doi:10.1017/S0364009420000215 This welcome edition of the Sefer ha-ma'asim, an anthology of sixty-nine Hebrew tales adapted, arranged, and composed in thirteenth-century France, offers readers a literary feast. Credit goes to a team of scholars under Rella [End Page 429] Kushelevsky's direction: Tovi Bibring for translations of Old French sources; Nurit Shoval for identifying and translating Latin parallels; three research assistants (Orit Kandel, Udi Sat, and Galit Brin) for the Hebrew notes, bibliography, and appendices; Itamar Drori for the manuscript transcription; Ruchie Avital for translating the tales; and Chaya Naor for translating the introductory chapters and tale analyses. Elisheva Baumgarten's "historical epilogue" concludes the work. The authors can take pride in their achievement. They have produced a solid edition of a major Hebrew literary work, which Kushelevsky locates in late thirteenth-century Champagne, a period and a region rich in Jewish literary activity that have received more attention for exegetical, polemical, and legal writings than for belles lettres. They have also bravely confronted the protean nature of their text, basing their edition on one manuscript (Oxford Bodleian 135). The copyist, like later copyists, treated the collection as an "open book" (28), adding, subtracting, and emending tales as he saw fit. This attention to the copyist as a figure whose imagination and agency played a determinative role in what we call "authorship" (4) is overdue. The tales blend didactic instruction and aesthetic pleasure; the Hebrew style suggests a "broad yet educated audience" (15) and includes performative elements (21). Sefer ha-ma'asim is a hybrid work, drawing on Jewish antecedents (midrash, exegesis, rabbinic literature, and Tosafist commentary) as well as on contemporary Old French romance, exempla, and folktales and motifs. Kushelevsky and her team have made this extraordinary compilation, annotated copiously, available not just to Hebrew readers but to a general audience of medievalists who will find interest in unfamiliar tales as well as more familiar but reworked ones. A striking example of the latter is tale 55 ("The Poor Bachelor"), with its reworked scene from Béroul's Tristan depicting two lovers separated chastely by a sword. Where Béroul memorably described Tristan and Yseult, uncovered in their forest hideout by Yseult's husband, King Mark, the Sefer ha-ma'asim describes a terrified student beside his wealthy cousin, discovered at home by her father, who advocates for their marriage against a mother with more materialist concerns. As Kushelevsky and Baumgarten observe, the Hebrew tales emphasize family, and their plots often turn on questions of family loyalty and honor. As Baumgarten also notes, the stories do not elevate scholars or rabbis for emulation; their pious heroes are characterized less by learning than by prayer and charity exercised outside Jewish study halls and synagogues (695–98). The women of Sefer ha-ma'asim are worthy of their "high status" historical counterparts; they speak frequently and consequentially, they manage money and affairs, they are pious and beautiful but equally energetic (699–700). Here, too, there is much room for comparison with vernacular conventions and historical conditions. All this is good. Other, less positive, aspects of this book range from merely annoying to cause for higher-order frustration. The translations can be clunky, and a combination of grammatical errors and infelicitous phrasings should have been caught by Wayne State's editors. The book's opening sentences are incomprehensible, and strange tangles of language appear throughout. [End Page 430] There is no reason to invent words like "hybridism" or "hybridic" when the English "hybridity" and "hybrid" are perfectly serviceable (17, 18, 25, 26, 33, etc.). "Internal loan library" should be "interlibrary loan" (xvi). "Predestinated" should be "predestined" (581). More problematically, what is a "historical horizon" (18) or a "narrating community" (8, 12, and elsewhere)? To describe a "synchronic sequence" as "loose" (40) manages to combine an oxymoron and mixed metaphor in one sad...

Men’s Perception towards the Abandonment of Female Genital Mutilation (Cutting) in Kenya (2014)

Introduction: Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a deeply rooted cultural practice common in parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia. It is mainly conducted for marriageability, family honour, social acceptance and chastity Despite Kenya's remarkable progress towards ending FGM, the practice is still prevalent within some ethnic groups threatening the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal No.5 and most specifically Kenya's ICPD25 commitment to end FGM by 2022.Objective: This study aimed to examine men's perception towards FGM abandonment in KenyaMethod: The study has used the 2014 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey data. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses using binary logistic regression were used with statistical significance of <0.01.Results: The study worked with a total of 26247 sample of men and women. FGM awareness was higher among men (98%) compared to women (97%) and over 90% of men and women favour its abandonment. Apart from women's age, all variables (region, place of residence, religion, ethnicity, education, wealth index, marital status, polygyny and men's age) were significant at <0.01 at bivariate stage. Young men and women below 30 years were more in favour of FGM abandonment than older folks. In the logistic regression, age and ethnicity were negatively associated with FGM abandonment while education, wealth and marital status were positive. Women's age, women's marital status and place of residence were insignificant.Conclusion: Given that men are the architects and custodians of community social norms, programmes to end FGM should consider their greater involvement. Culture specific interventions should be put in place using the social norms theory. Education and cultural intermarriages should be promoted as a way of ending harmful cultural practices.

The Struggle for Public Recognition: Understanding Early Marriage through the Lens of Honour and Shame in Six Countries in South Asia and West Africa

There is a burgeoning body of research on the role of ‘shame’ and ‘honour’ in decisions regarding early marriage in different parts of the world. Conceptualizing shame and honour as idioms through which gendered socio-economic inequalities are created and maintained, we examine early marriage decisions in Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Ghana, Burkina Faso and Senegal. While we acknowledge the existence of important differences between countries in terms of the nature and manifestations of shame and honour, we argue that regardless of setting, neither shame and honour, nor female sexuality and chastity can be separated from the socio-economic hierarchies and inequalities. Thus, in this article we seek to identify the cross-cutting dynamic of marriage as a means to overcome the shame associated with young single women’s sexuality, protecting family honour and social standing, and/or securing young women’s social-economic future. Building on our data and available scholarship, we question the potential of emphasizing ‘choice’ as a means of reducing early marriage and advancing women’s emancipation in international development efforts. Instead, we argue in favour of initiatives that engage with young people and caregivers on the ways in which, at grassroot levels, communities may revise narratives of respectability, marriageability and social standing.

Domestic violence as initiated by Batak culture in East Medan, Indonesia

ABSTRACT It is natural for human beings to hope that their married life will run smoothly and be full of happiness even though at times the reality they face could be far from what is expected, with some marriages witnessing lies, deceit and continuous violence. This research is a descriptive normative research with data sources that are both secondary and primary in nature. The results show that despite the existence of Law No. 23 of 2004 which regulates the elimination of domestic violence, domestic violence still thrives. It was observed that the regulation was greatly overlooked because of the strong influence of the Batak culture which was able to create the character of the Batak Toba tribe woman who always maintained the integrity of her household for family honor and natolu from both parties.

Changes in Family-Level Attitudes and Norms and Association with Secondary School Completion and Child Marriage Among Adolescent Girls: Results from an Exploratory Study Nested Within a Cluster-Randomised Controlled Trial in India.

We evaluated the impact of Samata, a 3-year multilayered intervention among scheduled caste/scheduled tribe (SC/ST) adolescent girls in rural northern Karnataka, on family-level (parents or guardian) attitudes and direct and indirect norms related to child marriage and girl's education. Endline data from 1840 family members were used to assess the effect of Samata on attitudes and norms related to schooling and child marriage, while data from 4097 family members (including 2257 family members at baseline) were used to understand the shifts in attitudes and norms over the period 2014-2017. Overall, we found that the programme had little impact on family-level attitudes and norms. However, there were shifts in some attitudes, norms and perceived sanctions between baseline (when girls were aged 13-14years) and endline (when girls were aged 15-16years), with some becoming more progressive (e.g. direct norms related to child marriage) and others more restrictive (e.g. norms around girls completing secondary education and norms related to child marriage and educational drop-out, blaming girls for eve teasing and limiting girls' mobility so as to protect family honour). Moreover, non-progressive norms related to marriage and education were strongly associated with child marriage and secondary school non-completion among adolescent girls in this rural setting. Norms hypothesised to be important for marriage and schooling outcomes were indeed associated with these outcomes, but the intervention was not able to significantly shift these norms. In part, this may have been due to the intervention focusing much of its initial efforts on working with girls alone rather than family members, the relevant reference group. Future interventions that seek to affect norms should conduct formative research to clarify the specific norms affecting the outcome(s) of interest; likewise, programme planners should ensure that all activities engage those most influential in enforcing the norm(s) from the beginning. ClinicalTrials.gov registration number: NCT01996241.

The Diplomacy of Clara Gonzaga, countess of Montpensier‐Bourbon: Gendered perspectives of family duty, honour and female agency

AbstractBetween the beginning of the Italian Wars in 1494 and her death in 1503, Clara Gonzaga, the countess of Montpensier‐Bourbon, was a significant intermediary in diplomatic relations between the French crown and her brother Francesco, the marquis of Mantua. Correspondence between the siblings and other letters from the Gonzaga archive offer us a rare glimpse of diplomacy from a woman’s perspective and in circumstances where it was necessary to navigate the diverging political perspectives and cultures of honour of natal and spousal kin. This essay explores the difficulties that Clara faced in attempting to influence her brother’s diplomacy and the angst she suffered as a result of his failure to concede that her honour might be distinct from his. I argue that despite these significant constraints, knowledge of a foreign language, closeness to royal power and a deep familiarity with the contrasting political traditions of her Italian and French relatives equipped Clara with skills that equalled, or perhaps sometimes rivalled, those of male diplomatic actors. Yet gendered orthodoxies inhibited acknowledgment by her brother of how central she was to the survival of the Gonzaga regime during Louis XII’s early reign.

Family, Class, Honor, Manhood: Lieutenant Edmond de Lotbinière Joly in India, Paris, and Crimea, 1850–1857

During the relatively short period when he was a junior officer in the British colonial army, Edmond Joly served in the recently annexed Punjab, at the siege of Sebastopol, and in the effort to rescue his regiment in Lucknow where he was mortally wounded at the age of twenty-four. Earlier that same year, the young Canadian had spent four months in Paris immersed in the social whirl of the aristocratic elite. Beyond describing those eventful years in intimate detail, Joly’s hitherto-unexamined personal letters, memoir, and journal reveal that his chief motivation in becoming a soldier and repeatedly risking his life after a rebellious youth was to gain the respect of his demanding father. The themes of emerging manhood and family honor are therefore central to this article, which also provides an intimate example of the clash between traditional aristocratic values and those of the rising middle class in the modernizing Victorian era.