Honor killing one century ago!

Drsonnet Sonnet Cardiology specialist

Source of image: Independent

1-Review of the literature:

• I tried to share this book about: Honour, Violence, Women and Islam By Mohammed Idriss, Tahir Abbas 
• Robert Fisk had written a series of articles on the honor killing across the world.  Robert Fisk: The crime wave that shames the world
• Robert Fisk: A place of refuge from fear and guilt
• Robert Fisk: The truth about 'honour' killings
• Robert Fisk: The lie behind mass 'suicides' of Egypt's young women
• Robert Fisk: Relatives with blood on their hands
• One woman's nightmare, and a crime against humanity

2-Honor killing and history of medicine:

Before: I read in an Arabic medical journal an old historical story occurred many decades ago. It was about an adolescent female who had amenorrhea and pelvic distension. She was wrongly diagnosed upon symptoms to be pregnant. She was killed by her father who was a thieve. Forensic scientists discovered she has a tumor that was responsible for her symptoms and she was virgin. So, this was murder done by a thieve for an innocent girl. The story was in the section of history of medicine nearly one century ago. However, it seems ongoing unless we study the causes, and solve the original problem well. 

Then: Few years ago, we were examining a mentally retarded girl with a critical cardiac condition (tight Mitral stenosis). On routine abdominal examination: she had a pelvic mass . Sonograph (US) revealed she is a pregnant in ~ 8 weeks. She was raped, and her family knows. Therapeutic abortion was done to save her life due to medical causes. If she continued pregnancy till >20 weeks she mostly will die. Thanks God, relatives were fair enough not to kill their daughter.

3-On being against both (adultery and honor killing):

We need to control social, cultural, and religions factors beyond it. Then, formal authorities can punish the responsible by a logic religious law. We should solve the main problem. OK, some men think they are brave and innocent, because they easily killed their weak female relatives. Actually, they have to be punished twice. Because they did not offer a normal fair life for them, and failed to protect them from adultery. The religion is against this adultery, and against honor killing which is a culture. There is a difference between well defined (how, when,….) Hudud in sharia, and that honor killing. Other problem is honor killing is facilitated by the law as killer (or substitute young relative) may be jailed for few months. Honor killing is also welcomed by the society in some communities.  We should not forget that those females are victims twice.  Second by honor killing. First, by not preventing them from going to adultery. Who needs to help should not only shout for the second which is easy, and ignore the first which is more difficult. The problem is not simple. On the other hand, dancers are honored in Arabic media. Love stories ending with adultery are presented frankly in most Arabic movies as a norm. What a controversy. 

4-A modern application of Honor killing! :

No need to tell about double standards during application of hudud in some countries. So, I will quote true events from articles of Robert Fisk including Islamic and non Islamic countries.

They are punishing raped females aged 13 years in Somalia!. Others were killed on suspect. Other was killed as she ran off with a man.

A new punishment (revenge by rape)!

Outrageously, rape is also used as a punishment for "honour" crimes. Four men, including one of the "jury", immediately dragged the girl to a hut and raped her while up to a hundred men laughed and cheered outside. She was then forced to walk naked through the village to her home. It took a week before the police even registered the crime – as a "complaint".

They are Humiliating not praying!

Or the young woman found in a drainage ditch near Daharki in Pakistan, "honour" killed by her family as she gave birth to her second child, her nose, ears and lips chopped off before being axed to death, her first infant lying dead among her clothes, her newborn's torso still in her womb, its head already emerging from her body? She was badly decomposed; the local police were asked to bury her. Women carried the three to a grave, but a Muslim cleric refused to say prayers for her because it was "irreligious" to participate in the namaz-e-janaza prayers for "a cursed woman and her illegitimate children".

5- Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him):

On contrary, we have to remind how prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) tried repeatedly to confirm the sin from both male and female. It was one even of adultery in Islamic literature.  She was not punished while pregnant or lactating. She was not punished (better to say clarified as in the proverb) unless her kid was definitely weaned. She was clarified in her complete dress and veil. Even, she was praised after being clarified with repentance and not with the corporal punishment. She got a prayer from the prophet (peace be upon him) and companies including Khalid ibn elwalid.

قال صلى الله عليه وسلم عن توبةَ المرأة الغامديةِ : ( لقد تابت توبةً لو قسمت على سبعين من أهل المدينة لوسعتهم ، وهل وجدت أفضل من أن جادت بنفسها لله عز وجل ؟ ) رواه مسلم في صحيحه.

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