Two happy teenage girls riding in car. They exude youth, hope and promise for the future. Their names, Amina (18) and Sarah (17), are still largely unknown despite receiving a few days of international media coverage a few months ago..
On New Year's Day 2008, they were murdered by their father. The reason? Amina and Sarah were discovered to have been spending time with non-Muslim boys. According to reports, Yasir Abdel Said, the father, had been subjecting his daughters to physical and sexual abuse for years. Yet, the girls managed to become productive students and popular with classmates in school.
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Beyond a mere heinous crime, the motive and the location of the murder is significant. It is widely suspected that Yasir Abdel Said considered his unspeakable actions justified to preserve the 'honor' of his family. In the view of some fanatical Muslims, women, who refuse to obey their male superiors (fathers and husbands), seek non-Muslim male companionship and become immersed in Western culture. In doing so, they are said to lose their dignity, bring shame on the family and deserve the punishment of death. Consider the potential dark ramifications of the following Koranic verse (4:34):
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'Men are the maintainers of women...good women are therefore obedient; and (as to) those on whose part you feel desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in sleeping places and beat them'
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If he was motivated from a sense of being disgraced by his daughters, Yasir committed an 'honor killing' - not somewhere in the Muslim world as would be expected - but in Texas. Rather than a native stain of misogyny, this one appears to have been ideologically imported from the 7th century sands of Arabia.
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Authorities in Pakistan are currently investigating the horrific murders of five young women several weeks ago in the province of Baluchistan. When three of them approached a civil court to wed men of their own choosing rather than submit to arranged marriages, they were kidnapped, transported to a remote location, shot and buried alive. Apparently, the other two women were considered accomplices in the 'dishonor'. In face of a public outcry against the crime, a provincial official stated, 'These are centuries old traditions and I will continue to defend them'. Needless to say, the official is a man.
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'Honor Killing' is a global phenomenon, and violence against women remains a constituent part of many societies. By raising public awareness through education and conducting relentless campaigns for women's rights across the world, this shameful scourge, similar to slavery and racism, can be placed on a road to extinction.
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J Roquen