Honour Killing: Roots and Remedies (A Global New)

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In our modern society the new menace of honour killing, also known as customary killing, is the murder of a family or clan member by one or more fellow family members, in which the perpetrators and potentially, the wider community believe the victim to have brought dishonour upon the family, clan, or community. The perceived dishonour is normally, the result of certain behaviours or the suspicion of such behaviours. Human Rights Watch defines "honour killings" in these words: Honour crimes are acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members, against female family members, who are held to have brought dishonour upon the family.

This book, most probably, the first on the subject, is an asset for all scholars, social activists and book. lovers.

RAO ARIF ALI KHAN, (b. 1961) B.A. (Hons), M.A., B.Ed., M.Ed., Ph.D., is an alumnus of Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh (UP). He hails from an aristocratic and scholarly family in the former state of Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh. Dr. Khan, an academic, in his own right, is devoted to research and serious studies. Recently, he has focused on academic writing. Dr. Khan is a senior member of the teaching faculty at Aligarh Muslim University. Apart from being a proficient writer, he is a prominent scholar and senior researcher. He authoritatively writes on social and political issues and his works touch a larger sphere. Beyond teaching, he devotes his time to research and writing. He has attended many a seminar and symposium and contributed papers to various journals. He has several books to his credit. Currently, he is busy in accomplishing his project "Feud- based Violence in Medieval India".

The new menace of our 'modern' society, honour killing, also known as customary killing, is the murder of a family or clan member by one or more fellow family members, in which the perpetrators and potentially, the wider community believe the victim to have brought dishonour upon the family, clan, or community. The perceived dishonour is normally the result of certain behaviours or the suspicion of such behaviours.

In fact, this is nothing new. Honour killings and punishments have been documented over centuries, among a wide variety of ethnic and religious groups, throughout the world. For example, the Code of Hammurabi of Babylon, which was issued in 1790 BC, penalised adulterous couples by drowning. The 1075 BC Assyrian Law of the Civilization of Mesopotamia stated that the father of a defiled virgin should punish his daughter, in a manner, he saw fit. In Bible in the Book of Genesis (38:24), Judah demanded for the burning of his daughter-in-law, Tamar, whom he was told to be pregnant via harlotry; this view is further supported in the Book of Leviticus (21:9). Other capital offences include "cursing" one's parents (Leviticus 20:9) and worshipping other gods (Deuteronomy 13:7-12). Matthew Goldstein has noted that honour killings were encouraged in ancient Rome, where male family members, who did not take action against the female adulterers, in their family; were "actively persecuted".

Book's Contents and Sample Pages