Honor Killing

An honor killing is the murder of one family member by another family member due to a perceived shameful act by the victim upon their family or community. They are prominently carried out in the honor based societies which defined a person standing by the integrity in the eyes of the community. Those with honor are generally viewed good and others are viewed shamed.

Because the women are understood the man’s property in these societies their betrayal strips away their honor and can be punishable by death. Honor killings can happen as the result of a women seeking to escape from arranged marriage or having an extra marital affair. They can also stem for actions as basic as dating someone by not accepted by a family or wearing western clothing. Some of the women are also killed after being sexually assault or raped.