Honor Killing And Shame English Literature Essay

I can remember every minute of that day ,while my family, my grandmother and me watched a program on television called “honor killing as stigma “,my grandmother said: listen to me I will tell you this real story about honor killing. Before four years ago, in summertime, about an eighteen years old, younger lady, who lived in a small village called Al-Raha.she was studying in Swedia University. Her name was Muna; she was so polite, beautiful and belongs to poor family. One day when she returned back from the university at eight o’clock in the bus. The bus driver was their son neighbor. He called Aiahm, he was twenty four years, he was very rich, every month he used to travel for enjoy. He used to look to people like he was the best one among them because he had a lot of money. while he drove, kept his eyes on her, then when she wanted to go down from bus, he asked her: you can stay I will deliver you to your home because the time was late .she said:” thank you, I will stay”. after ten minutes no one in the bus , only she and him .he closed the bus door , drove fast and changed his road .she asked him :”where are you going?” he said :”don`t worry, we will reached the home fast through this road.” she started to say:” please stop here I will go alone” . He laughed in high voice and said: “No, you will be to me today, we will enjoy our time, I will give you some money but you must keep silent.” Muna started to shout, cry and asked him:” please let me go, I don`t need money. “He reached to far area among a lot of trees. He tried to catch her , she refused and batted him ,he wanted to rape her ,but she refused and Scratched his face .while Aiahm started to cut her clothes, she fall down on rock and lost her conscious , when that happened Aiahm afraid and thought that she has died ,so he leaved her and ran away.

Someone found her near the road, brought her to hospital .her family came to hospital, her mother started to shout and say:” you had shamed the family.” The doctor`s told her family: “please, be quiet your daughter was fine, she had nervous shock and a little lesion on her body, but she didn`t lose her virginity.” Also, the police was there ,they checked the doctor`s report , and asked the girl about what happened .Then ,the police called her family to explain everything and asked them to write a paper ,which included :”Your daughter was virginal ,promise to don`t kill her and don`t search or kill the boy the law will punish him.”

The people started to talk about what happened and most of them said: “she shameless and lost her virginity.” Also, her mother used to spit and say to her:” you bitch, brought the stigma for our family, you must die “.The mother all the time asked Muna`s father:” killed her to wash with her blood the family honor that was violated because of her.” While Muna all the time set alone and cried, and thought: “why I? Why they don`t believe me? Why no one punish or wants to kill Aiahm?” After two days Aiahm family came to apologize for what their son did and asked them to take some money and forget what happened .Muna father`s said: “we don`t sell our honor by money ,go out of my home.” after one week ,in a sunny day ,her father went outside the home, the people started to look to him and say :”look for him he walk between us without any shame ,really he honor less.” He returned back fast to the house and called Muna to his room. When she came, she kept her eyes looking to ground .she said: “Yes, father you want me. He said: “Yes, I need to wash our honor.” He shot her by gun. Her blood spread in each part in the room. Then her brother put her in a grave without any pray for her soul.

My grandmother add Muna was virgin but she was killed to wash stigma, while Aiahm the criminal is married and living in Jordan enjoying his life and Muna`s father stayed for six months in jail.

Analysis

After listening to this story, I become sad upset and felt her pain as a female. Also as a healthcare professional, I thought about different perspectives of the story .The story have concepts of: poverty, societal violence, violence against women, shame or stigma, violation of human rights, discrimination against women and honor killing. After the previous culture classes which I have been taken and the literature which I read really helped me to analyze the entire story especially the honor killing, violence and discrimination against women as stigma in our society ,and how it`s affected in our health .

In the first I would like to analyze the issue of honor killing. In this horrible episode the victim is the daughter (Muna), who got killed by her father for washing stigma with blood and to prevent her father to look like honor less, who is not creditable of living as less than a man in the society. Honor killing is crime and heartlessness behavior, which committed in this story by her father. According to (Lubna, 2009): “Honor crimes are generally acts of violence usually murder, committed by male family members against female family members.” In many parts of Western Asia, North Africa and South Asia including Pakistan, honor killings capture the lives of huge number of young women every year. According to (UNFPA, 2000): “Throughout the world, perhaps as many as 5,000 women and girls a year are murdered by members of their own families… At least 1,000 women were murdered in Pakistan in 1999.”Also, Jordan measured one of the most moderate countries in the Middle East, “Approximately 25 females per year are reportedly killed in the name of honor in Jordan.”(Daniel, 2010).

In the light of the number of women who murdered every year, I can analyze that in many cultures, women the main victims of human right abuse and under the honor killing cap the family cover the violence and discrimination against women. The women are killed for many reason such as, refusing to wear hijab, Opposed parents` for married , divorce or seeking divorce, specking with irrelative or stranger person, sexual misbehavior , women who was raped…etc. these reasons with another reasons which linked with level of family awareness ,education, law, economic and social…etc. The main reason in this episode, it is whispered to loss of virginity, when the society and Muna family`s didn`t believe the doctor`s report that, Muna didn`t lose her virginity when Aiahm tried to rape her. according to (Bahlkani. 2006):”Many forms of communally sanctioned violence against women, such as “honor” killings, are associated with the community`s or the family`s demand for sexual chastity and virginity.” Not only the violence will affected in women but also, the discrimination to men in the society and front of law, will lead to increase the honor killing.” Even when the men are convicted, the judiciary ensures that they usually receive a light sentence, reinforcing the view that men can kill their female relatives with virtual impunity. Specific laws hamper redress as they discriminate against women.”(Bahlkani. 2006).also, Muna belong to poor family and they have depression level of awareness about honor killing and the solutions for it.

On other hand, the increasing number of honor killing and variety styles of killing or torture (verbal and un verbal torture) like, Burned alive, Stabbed, Strangled, Shot, throat cut and tortured by saying bad words or beats by legs…etc. will lead to increase the affected on women health ,in both sides physical and psychological. As we notice through what happened with Muna, she faced physical affected when Aiahm tried to rape her and when her father killed her. also, she faced psychological affected when she entered into nervous shock, worried for what will be able to happen to her in the future and isolation , because her mother said bad words like, bitch(verbal torture )and(un verbal torture)when they looked to her like she is shame on their family. Also, decrease the respect for her especially when she came to see her father and her eyes focused on ground.

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In conclusion , honor killing, violence against women and discrimination issues are stigma in our life which growth through the time, with big roots in the people minds and related with our health concern .So we can erase the stigma of these issues from our society through opening up our minds by great steps, such as increase awareness among women for education, health and their rights, , increase awareness of women role in social and community , state restricted law against violence , avoid discrimination by gender equality ,establish community groups of health care professionals to avoid honor killing, promote family to be friendly with their daughters, teaching early our kids the respect of women and force for early education and prevention that saves kids today from honor killing tomorrow`s .