The NewsMinute reported that as per police reports, Praveen and Sharmi chose to marry and officially registered their union in November 2023, even though their families did not approve of their cross-caste relationship. Praveen belonged to the Adi Dravidar community (which is a Scheduled Caste), and Sharmi belonged to the Yadava caste.

On a Saturday evening around 9 pm, at a private bar in Pallikaranai, Sharmi’s brother Dinesh, came by with four friends and confronted Praveen at the place after which a heated argument took place. Thereafter, Dinesh and his associates took out knives that they had brought with them, and brutally attacked Praveen and soon fled the scene after assaulting him.

The Pallikaranai police have initiated legal proceedings by filing a case under the Scheduled Caste and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

Five men, including the victim’s brother-in-law, have been so far arrested by the police in connection with the crime on Sunday.

The Quint spoke to the 21 year old Sharmi who is a fourth year college student, who told the outlet, “They brutally murdered my husband. Why? Because he belonged to a lower caste, and they didn’t accept our marriage. Who are they to decide who I can marry and who I can’t?”

Similarly, an equally horrifying and tragic event took place earlier this January where a 19-year-old girl was reportedly set on fire by her own family members, including her father, just days after she married her Dalit boyfriend against their wishes. This horrifying event unfolded in the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu, as revealed by the police.

The victim, Aishwarya, and her 19-year-old boyfriend, Naveen, had known each other since their childhood and had been friends for many years. Both of them had even worked together in Tiruppur where Naveen, a mechanical engineer, secured employment at a hosiery unit in Avarapalayam, Tiruppur, while Aishwarya initially worked at a textile mill in Palladam. Eventually, she joined Naveen at the same firm and became colleagues. Both saw strong opposition from Aishwarya’s family. However, the couple with help from their friends, secretly got married on December 31, 2023, at a temple in Avarapalayam after which, they relocated to a leased residence in Veerapandi, situated in Theni district.

However, on January 2, just days following her marriage to Naveen, Aishwarya was burned alive by her family and succumbed to her injuries. Her husband launched a police complaint following which her father was arrested along with four of his relatives.

Related:

Dalit groom attacked, threatened, and beaten off a horse at his wedding in Gujarat

Assam: After taking an oath to uphold Ambedkar’s Constitution, the BJP CM invoked the Gita to promote caste-based occupation 

Dalits attacked by upper castes at Buddha Katha ceremony in Kanpur

Unveiling hidden divides: caste, gender and the myth of Indian growth 

The post Chennai: Dalit man hacked to death by in-laws due to caste appeared first on SabrangIndia.

A 45-year-old Muslim man, identified as Imraj Ansari was killed in Jharkhand’s Bokaro district, allegedly due to his being in a relationship with a woman from another community. The incident occurred in Dhawaiya village in Mahuatand.

The Telegraph published a PTI report that says that according to the police, some villagers were opposed to the relationship. Superintendent of Police Chandan Kumar Jha told PTI, “The unhappy villagers murdered him around 8 pm on Thursday.”

Eleven people have been arrested in connection with the case so far, and police forces have been deployed in the village to avert a law-and-order problem due to fears of outbreak of communal violence. An investigation is underway, but police are tight-lipped about the details at present given the sensitive nature of the crime.

Often, interfaith relationships, particularly those between Muslim men and Hindu women, are frowned upon in places where tradition trumps every other aspect of life. These are pejoratively dubbed as “Love Jihad”, as the Muslim man in the relationship is invariably accused of taking advantage of the non-Muslim woman. This, apart from being an extremely offensive and communal mindset, is also insulting to women as it is presumed that they have no agency, or that an adult woman is not capable of making decisions about her personal life.

SabrangIndia’s sister organisation CJP had moved a petition before the Supreme Court challenging laws enacted by various states to curtail religious conversion. CJP’s petition opposed these un-constitutional, anti-minority and misogynistic beliefs, by challenging laws passed in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Related:

CJP’s Love Jihad amendment petition allowed by SC

Marry Hindu men to avoid triple talaq: Suresh Chavhanke’s advice to Muslim women

No interfaith nikah sans parents’ consent: MP’s Ulama Board’s latest diktat

The post Jharkhand: Muslim man allegedly killed for being in a relationship with a non-Muslim woman appeared first on SabrangIndia.

A horrific crime, that seems to be rooted in caste based discrimination and patriarchy, had been reported from Fazilka district Punjab on Sunday. A Newly-wed couple was reportedly abducted and hacked to death, allegedly by the woman’s family members who had objected to their marriage.

According to news reports, the Moga police have booked 16 people, including the woman’s paternal uncles and cousins on charges of murder, kidnapping and other offences. The complaint was reportedly filed by the man’s brother-in-law Sukhdev Singh.

The victims identified as Rohtash Singh (25) and Suman (23) had got married on October 1 in Chandigarh, and the couple was reportedly staying at Rohtash’s sister Mamta’s house in Raunta village in Nihal Singh Wala of Moga since October 13. Suman’s family had rejected the alliance and this Sunday afternoon, members of her family, now accused of the murder, allegedly barged into Mamta’s house, and “abducted the couple”, reported Indian Express. The victims were beaten up, and allegedly murdered in the Sappanwali village of Abohar in Fazilka district. Their bodies were dumped at the main chowk of the village.

Police shared horrific details of the gruesome murder saying, “Rohtash’s throat was slit, and Suman was strangled”, and that other multiple injuries on their bodies were “inflicted with swords, axes and other sharp weapons.” According to Rohtash’s brother Vikram Kumar,  Suman’s family “had made life hell” for the couple and used to roam outside their house with weapons. He added that even he and his family had “left our house and hid ourselves to save our lives.”

According to news reports, even though both families are from the OBC community, they were from different economic sections. According to Vikram, Suman’s family are zamindars (landowners) and his own family is that of daily wagers, “My late father was a gardener. So they felt humiliated when their daughter married the son of a daily wager instead of a zamindar.” 

Sukhdev Singh, Rohtash’s brother-in-law, recalled, “On Sunday afternoon, around 15-16 people in three cars stopped outside my house and tried to barge in. When we refused to open the gates, they scaled the walls and came inside. They started thrashing Rohtash and Suman,” he told the IE adding, the couple was dragged outside and taken away in cars. “My wife was not at home. I started following them on my motorcycle but they sped off. Suman was terrified when the attack happened and identified four men. Two of them were her paternal uncles and two were cousins. They were carrying swords and at least 10 more people were accompanying them with their faces covered. They were shouting ‘tuhanu love marriage karwaun da mazaa chakhauney haan’ (Now we will teach you both a lesson for solemnising love marriage)’. A few hours later, we got to know that they killed both of them and threw the bodies at the chowk,” he recalled.

Sukhdev has claimed that there was no caste issue as both families were from the OBC community, but that the girl’s family objected “because they felt it would be humiliating if their daughter married the son of a gardener. Both Suman and Rohtash loved each other since school days and always wanted to get married. Earlier also, 2-3 times, Suman’s family had warned us against this relationship but both were madly in love.”

According to news reports the Moga police have registered an FIR under sections 302 (murder), 452 (house trespass), 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder), 148 (rioting) and 149 (unlawful assembly) of IPC at Nihal Singh Wala police station.

Related:

Kundli murder accused remanded to week-long custody

Haryana: “Upper castes” booked for social boycott of 150 Dalit families

Hate watch: BJP man makes racist, anti-Dalit social media posts about Dr. Udit Raj

The post Punjab: Newly-weds, hacked to death, allegedly by woman’s family appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Banner and posters of Pranay on the walls of the house to demand Jusice (Photo: Nikhat fatima/TwoCircles.net)

Facts of the case:
On 14th of September, Friday, Pranay, 23, his wife Amrutha, 21 and Pranay’s mother Premalatha had gone to a maternity hospital for a check-up as Amrutha is pregnant. As they were walking out of the hospital, an unknown assailant came up from behind and hacked Pranay to death striking two fatal blows on each side of his neck. Pranay died on the spot while Amrutha fell down unconscious.
The unknown assailant was caught on the camera but escaped from the spot.

Balaswamy told this committee, “I knew Maruthi Rao, Amrutha’s father would do some mischief but I never imagined that he would kill my son. I was always apprehensive that he would harm me because I accepted their marriage and even arranged for a reception.But Maruthi Rao killed my son instead. From day one he did not accept my son as his son in law. “

Balaswamy Pranay’s father with CLMC member (Photo: Nikhat Fatima/ TwoCircles.net)

Initially, even Pranay’s family were against this relationship because of the differences in the castes. Pranay was a Dalit Christian from the Mala caste while Amrutha Varshini belonged to the Vaishya (traders) community which is an upper caste.

But the couple were so much in love and nothing could stop them. Balaswamy told us that the children were ‘good friends’ right from their school days when they were studying at Kakathiya Concept School in Miryalaguda. Amrutha was Pranay’s junior by two years. Later, when they were pursuing their higher studies in Hyderabad their love blossomed as there were no restrictions or prying eyes in the city like Miryalaguda town.

But in 2017 the families learnt of their relationship.

Amrutha’s father, Maruthi Rao, a real estate developer and owner of several properties was against his only daughter’s affair and kept her confined in the house for nearly six months.

Since Pranay’s parents too disapproved, the couple eloped and got married at an Arya Samaj temple in Hyderabad in January 2018.

Pranay’s parents relented and helped the couple settle by renting out a villa for them in Hyderabad and furnishing it. They even threw a reception for them when they learnt that Amrutha was expecting.

It was a grand affair and the videos and pictures that Amrutha posted on her Facebook page were like scenes from a fairy tale. The video and pictures were viral with thousands of likes and shares.

Pranay and Amrutha at their wedding reception (Courtsey: Social Media)

And perhaps Maruthi also saw these videos which enraged him further.

We were told that these videos and the thousands of likes infuriated Maruthi Rao that he actually wanted to post a video of Pranay being killed.

The plan for Murder:
Maruthi personally knew Mohammed Bari, who resided in Nalgonda which is around 60 kilometres from Miryalaguda. Bari and Maruthi Rao knew each other from the last few years. And Bari had a criminal past. When Maruti told him of the plan to bump off Pranay, Bari contacted his friends in crime and a deal was struck for Rs.1 crore as per the police.

The others arrested in the case are  Subash Sharma, who was with Bari in a prison and is the person who hacked Pranay; Asghar Ali, who was one of the accused in the murder of Hiren Pandya, former Home Minister of Gujrat, Abdul Kareem, a transport operator and also a friend of Maruthi Rao, Sravan, a relative of Maruti and Shiva, Maruti’s driver. And of course, Maruti Rao himself who is the main accused in the case.

It has come to light that Rs 16 lakh was paid in advance to the hired killers.

Before September 14, the hired contract killer Sharma who is from Bihar was brought to Miryalgudda and familiarised with the town.

Balaswamy, Pranay’s father said, “ It is a planned murder and the killer was such an expert he did his job swiftly and fled from the scene.”

He also said that he has seen the FIR and the sections under which the 7 accused are booked under 302 (Murder), 34 (Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention), 120b (Party to a criminal conspiracy) read with 109 (Abetment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Section 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

Amrutha’s stand:
Amrutha, now very frail and tired due to the constant appearances on various channels and pestered by all the newspapers was suffering from a severe cough. She is now in the 6th month of pregnancy and is living with her in-laws. She does not ever want to go back to her father.

One can see the dark circles under her eyes and the sad forlorn look in her eyes as she sleeps in a room adorned with pictures of Pranay and herself. But she speaks with determination when she says she wants her father to be punished as she is sure that he is behind the murder of her husband.

And she has reason to believe so because when her father learnt of her pregnancy he had wanted her to abort the child. And right from the beginning, he was dead against their relationship.

Amrutha (Photo: Nikhat fatim/TwoCircles.net)

Support for Pranay:
On the day of the funeral which was on Sunday and also before that there were hordes of people from different religions and castes visiting the family to show their solidarity. The youth groups were especially charged and vowed to fight alongside the family till justice is delivered.

Dalit groups and activists all came to offer condolences and demand for justice. There was chanting of slogans that said, ‘Pranay amar rahe’ and Long live Dalit unity and even Laal salaam. When the funeral procession was taken from the church there was a sea of people.

Support for Maruthi:
However, there was another group of people who felt the murder was justified.

The people from Vaishya community who took out a rally in Nalgonda District with banners that said, ‘ We support Maruti Rao’.

But, not all of the Vaishya community members support Maruti, said Pranay’s father. He said there were many people from the Vaishya community who came to offer condolences and they condoled the action of other Vaishya who supported Maruti.

But we can see several groups and individuals hailing from upper castes being vocal about their support to Maruti. They have posed questions such as, “Will you accept/ be quiet if your daughter marries a man from low caste?”

“Does it not hurt the parents who bring up their daughters/ sons with so much of love to see them go against their wishes and marry a person of low caste?”

There have been some who felt aghast when Amrutha spoke on the TV accusing her father and saying that she wants him to be punished.

Statue for Pranay:
Pranay has become a martyr for the Dalit community and all others who believe in love. His untimely death for being a Dalit has caused outrage and at the same time made him a hero. The youth groups and also others and even Amrutha, his wife want a statue of Pranay erected in their town.

But as soon as the upper caste people got wind of this plan, they began protesting and even wrote to the government officials not to grant permission for a statue to be built.

Will justice be done?
Although there are visitors every day to meet the parents of Pranay and offer them support, Balaswamy says the accused may get a bail in a month or two and after that, the case may prolong for years together. Will we get justice?

Findings:
1.  Upper caste hegemony reflects clearly in this case. It is a fact that in this era of the 21st Century caste is the base of Hindu society in India. It is also a fact that the mindset of upper caste people has not yet changed. The upper castes still believe in the caste system and being of upper caste is an honour for them.  Dalits are untouchables and maintaining relations with a Dalit community is against their dignity.
2.   The fact that even Pranay’s family were well to do and owned a duplex and in a position to provide all comforts to Amrutha was not enough which again shows that caste was the only criteria for this murder.
3.  Maruti Rao hatched the conspiracy to kill Pranay in a well-planned manner just to maintain his dignity and he is proud about this killing.
4.  In this case, the upper caste Vaishya community have united and are supporting a criminal act by conducting rallies, press conference and through social media. Now it has become a trend in India to support the criminals, especially when the victims are Dalits and Muslims.

Demands:
·   Civil Liberties monitoring committee demands that a special investigation team (SIT) be constituted for investigation and a special Fast-track court be formed for the case trail in Hyderabad city so that free and fair trial can be done.
·   Respect the will and wish of Pranay’s wife for building a statue of Pranay and starting a trust in the name of her husband.
·   Grant ex gratia to the family of Balaswamy and Pranay’s wife Amruthavarshini
·   Provide a govt gob to Amrutha, Pranay’s wife.
·   CLMC also demands of a firm action to be taken against those who are supporting this killing in the name of honour.

banners of pranay and amrutha at the gate of the house in Miryalaguda (Photo: Nikhat fatima/TwoCircles.net)

Courtesy: Two Circles

The post Fact-finding team demands SIT investigation to ensure justice for Telangana honour killing victim appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 

Newsclick Image by Nitesh Kumar

Two days after the Supreme Court lambasted Khaps for acting like “conscience keeper (of the society)” and punishing interfaith and inter-caste couples, leaders of unofficial community organisation representing a clan or a group of related clans have said the top court has no right to interfere in their business. Terming the apex court’s observation as “ghinauna” (despicable), they threatened them “will not let girl children to be born if the judiciary continues to make such judgments that are against their traditions”.

Hearing a petition seeking a ban on ‘khap panchayats’ (self-appointed village courts in parts of north India), which believe it is their duty to protect “thousands-year-old traditions” and pass order to punish couples who marry against their families’ wishes, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra on February 5 said when two adults marry, no one has the right to interfere.

“Whether it is parents, society or anyone, they are out of it. No one, either individual or collective, or group, has the right to interfere with the marriage,” said the CJI directing the Centre to come up with effective suggestions to protect such couples.

The petitioner Shakti Vahini, a non-profit organisation (NGO), has asked for a ban on ‘honour killings’ – the killing of a relative, especially a girl or a woman, who is perceived to have brought dishonour on the family by marrying without their parents’ consent.

Following the SC’s observation, khap leaders clearly said the apex court has no right to interfere in their traditions and that they will never let their daughters marry with a person of her choice.

“We respect the honourable Supreme Court, we also respect some of their observations but the judge must think before passing any judgement and making observations. Why are they taking such a ghinauna (despicable) decision? Why are they hell-bent to end our thousands of year-old culture and tradition? Who has given them the right to interfere in our traditions? We will not tolerate it at all,” Naresh Tikait of the Balyan Khap told Newsclick.

He threatened, “We will not let girls be born or let them study if these kinds of orders are passed by the Supreme Court. What will happen then? To what extent will the SC go?”

“We let our girls study and spend lakhs of rupees on their education. Why will we allow them to marry whoever they want? We won’t let them do this at any cost,” he said.

Malik Khap chief Rajbir Singh Malik said the Supreme Court’s might be influenced by the ‘vulgar exhibition of modernity in cosmopolitan cities’. “They (the judges) must understand that village life is different, and we are bound by our traditions,” he added.

Spokesperson of the petitioner – Shakti Vahini – declined to comment adding that “it’s not fair to give any statement at this juncture when the matter is subjudice”.

Killings in the name of ‘honour’ are still common enough among Hindus and Muslims to regularly make newspaper headlines in a country where most marriages are arranged by families. Men and women are murdered in India every year by their family members for bringing “shame” to the family by eloping,
fraternising with men or any other infraction against conservative social values. These incidents are termed as honour killings, which have witnessed a sharp rise of around 800 percent in 2016 in India – according to figures presented in the previous session of Parliament.

As per a statement made by Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir in the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) on December 5 last year, a total of 251 cases of honour killings were registered in 2015 as against 28 cases lodged in 2014 when the government began counting them separately from murder. The number given by him was based on the data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on November 30.

The surge could partly reflect more willingness by people to report such crimes, which many still consider just punishment for women and men who defy communal customs by marrying outside of their religion, clan, or caste.

Women’s rights activists say the government must pass legislation to recognise the crime as “unique” so that perpetrators can be prosecuted.

“The government should take it as a priority. Though the police now count these killings separately, some police officers still record such cases in the larger murder category and do not probe into it in absence of a separate law defining such crimes,” said All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) Vice President Sudha Sundararaman.

The separate category to record cases of honour killing was created after ‘sustained campaign by women’s groups’, said senior Supreme Court lawyer Kirti Singh, so that a real picture of the heinous crime can be ascertained. “But there are still many cases that go unreported,” she said.

Most of the cases are reported from northern Indian states like Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, where caste councils wield enormous power in village life.

The highest number of such killings recorded in 2016 was in Uttar Pradesh, where 131 cases were recorded compared with just two cases in 2014, Ahir said, citing the NCRB data.

Activists question the figures terming it an “underestimation”. They claim – on the basis of a study they had conducted in 2011 – on an average, 900 people are killed every year in India in the name of ‘honour’.

Annie Raja of the National Federation of Indian Women explains the reason why the NCRB data is an “underestimation”. “Such cases are not generally reported because families feel ashamed to bring them on record,” she said.

The situation, said Raja, has worsened in the past few years. “There is an increasing trend that village elders promoting conservative, anti-women values in the name of preserving Indian culture and tradition. The society is unwilling to accept the choices made by young women when it comes to their marriage,” she added.

The Supreme Court, also in January last year, had termed attacks by khap panchayats on adult man and woman opting for inter-caste marriage as “absolutely illegal”.

Courtesy: Newsclick.in
 

The post ‘We Will Not Let Girls be Born or Let Them Study’ Say Khaps appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Victim with her husband     Image: India Today

Bijapur (Karnataka): In a dreadful incident of honour killing, a pregnant woman in Karnataka's Bijapur district was burnt alive by her family members for allegedly marrying a Dalit man. She happened to be Muslim. The incident took place in a village called Gundanakala in the Bijapur district.

Media reports suggest that 21-year-old Banu Begum was in love with 24-year-old Sayabanna Sharnappa Konnur, a young man from the same village. The couple decided to elope to Goa when there was rigid resistance from the girl's parents who refused to accept their relationship. Banu's family was so enraged that they dragged the girl to the local police station and sought a case of POCSO to be filed against Sayabanna.

On June 3, the duo returned home after she got pregnant, with the hope that they will have to accept their marriage. However, both the families were unwilling to change their stand and soon got into a fight.Sayabanna was brutally assaulted by the girl's family but he managed to escape with bite marks all over his body but Banu could not escape.When Sayabanna returned with police, the family members had set Banu on fire.According to reports, four members including Banu's mother, her sister, brother and brother-in-law have been arrested.
 

The post A Woman, Pregnant Was Burnt Alive for Marrying a Dalit: Karnataka appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Picture courtesy of I Change, the group started by Esraa Tayseer Kudair and her team who organised the protest against 'honour' killings in Jordan. Some rights reserved.

With banners that read ‘kill her, you will be protected’, ‘there is no honour in killing’ and ‘justifying crime is a crime,’ the campaigners, many of them high school students, expressed their horror and outrage at the growing number of women murdered in so-called ‘honour’ crimes in Jordan over the past 12 months.

The demonstration was led by 17-year-old student activist Esraa Tayseer Kudair through her group I Change to spotlight legal provisions that, she says, represent a “license to kill.” Pointing in particular to Article 340 of the Jordanian Penal Code, she says, “Criminals can receive a lower sentence if the crime is related to family honour so what’s to stop them? It’s like they are giving them excuses to carry out these crimes.”

Describing her shock and sadness every time reports surface of another woman brutally murdered in the name of family ‘honour’, Kudair says she feels compelled to act. I Change is planning visits to schools around Amman to lecture on the criminal dimension of honour killings, which are still seen as a means of resolution in some Jordanian communities. “We’re the new generation and it’s up to us to work together and change things,” Kudair says.

The situation is getting worse for women in Jordan amid a regression in societal attitudes towards equality

Their voices join a growing chorus from activists who say that the situation is getting worse for women in Jordan amid a regression in societal attitudes towards equality. Last year saw a 53 percent rise in the number of women killed for reasons related to ‘honour’, according to a report released by the Sisterhood is Global Institute (SIGI) in October. That month, five deaths were reported during a single week, including two sisters shot by their brother for leaving the house without permission and an 18-year-old man charged with killing his sister for using a mobile phone the family didn’t know about.

Asma Khader, executive director of SIGI, describes the growth of a more conservative mindset in recent years causing a “decline in freedoms” for women and girls. “The political will is for gender equality here; the problem is the mentality of the people. We are not only fighting the perpetrators, we are fighting the whole society,” she explains.

In patriarchal communities, leaving the house without permission, talking with a male non-relative and marrying without consent can all be considered violations of a woman’s virtue. Even if a woman is raped, says Lubna Dawany, a prominent lawyer and human rights activist, she might still be killed to “cleanse the family (because) it was through her that they were shamed.”

Social media is also playing a part. “Women are sharing information about their lives on social media, often under pseudonyms, which gives their guardians a lot of insecurity about what they’re doing on these platforms,” says Aseel Abu Albandora, project coordinator at the Jordanian Women’s Union. “Conservativism continues on Facebook,” she adds, explaining that most girls are not allowed to post pictures of themselves. “Social media just becomes a new tool to spy on female relatives and accuse them of wrongdoing.”

While movements to confront honour culture and the crimes committed in its name have gathered pace over recent years, the mentality is often deep-rooted and ingrained from an early age. A Cambridge University study conducted in 2013 found that almost half the boys and one in five girls interviewed during a survey of 850 students in Amman, believed that killing a daughter, sister or wife who had ‘dishonoured’ the family was justified. 

Often it’s a family decision to carry out the crime.

“I’m very disappointed to say that it’s a lot of young people who commit these crimes,” says Albandora pointing to gender discrimination inherent in school curriculums and the social pressure on young men to be seen to protect the family name. Coming from a conservative tribal community, she is all too aware of the priority placed on upholding ideals of honour. “Often it’s a family decision to carry out the crime. They all sit down and decide who will kill her,” she says.

Sometimes boys under the age of 18, who are subject to a significantly lighter sentence than adult relatives, are made to carry out the crime. Dawany recalls dealing with one young man under pressure to kill his little sisters, both of whom had fallen pregnant. “He didn’t want to do it…but it’s the whole society, his friends, his relatives, his teachers, saying he’s not a real man. Eventually he decides, yes, he does want to be a ‘real’ man.”

Albandora believes that stronger legal deterrents will lead the way. “It’s a matter of changing the law. If ‘honour’ crimes are clearly illegal then it will raise awareness and people will know they can’t get away with it.” Articles 340 and 98 of Jordan’s Penal Code give judges discretion to grant the perpetrators of ‘honour’ crimes reduced sentences in mitigating circumstances, which include cases involving adultery or crimes committed in a ‘fit of fury’ respectively. 

A reduced sentence may also be granted if the victim’s family waives their personal right to litigate. Adam Coogle, Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch, explains that, “prosecutors are using these articles less and less and they do now tend to prosecute ‘honour’ crimes as murder. The problem is the families removing their legal claim, which qualifies the perpetrator for a shorter sentence.”

According to Dr. Salma Nims, secretary general of the Jordanian National Commission for Women, this is a frequent outcome for ‘honour’ crime cases, most of which occur within families. Looking at recent figures, she believes that the situation is getting worse and that a “paradigm shift” is needed in the way ‘honour’ crimes are perceived in Jordan. “We need to deconstruct the concept of honour and stop applying it to women,” Nims says.

“The most important and difficult thing to do is to change a culture, to change a way of thinking for an entire people,” says Dawany.

Last year, Jordan’s Iftaa Department, which is responsible for issuing religious decrees, released the country’s first fatwa prohibiting the murder of women in the name of family honour. But much work remains to be done in Jordan, both at the legal level, where, says Khader “escape routes must be closed,” and in local communities, where men are treated as heroes for murdering a female relative to restore their family’s ‘honour.’

Olivia Cuthbert is a Jordan-based freelance journalist focusing on women's rights, issues affecting marginalised groups and the situation of refugees in Jordan as well the environment and other areas related to international development.

This article was first published on Open Democracy
 

The post Protesters say Jordanian law dealing with ‘honour’ crimes is a “license to kill” appeared first on SabrangIndia.