PMW Special Report
Aug. 15, 2012
Special Report:
Upsurge in "honor killings"
triggers Palestinian calls
for cultural changes, new laws
http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=7245
Op-ed: "Every day more than one crime is committed against more than one
woman... I shall criticize out loud the social culture that still seeks
justifications for the murder of women."
[Al-Ayyam, Aug. 7, 2012]
Attorney: "A man who murders his daughter, wife or sister stays in prison
only three months." [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 3, 2012]
Lecturer on PA TV: "Part of our [Palestinian] identity is to kill women, to
beat women..." [PA TV (Fatah), June 24, 2012]
Op-ed: "He already murdered his daughter [the first time]... when he married
her off to a man 50 years older than her."
[Al-Ayyam, Aug. 7, 2012]
by Itamar Marcus
p:+972 2 625 4140 e: pmw@palwatch.org
f: +972 2 624 2803 w: www.palwatch.org
(View full report in PDF)
http://palwatch.org/STORAGE/special%20reports/report_Upsurge_in_honor%20killings_150812%20.pdf
Palestinian press reports about murders of Palestinian women by male family
members, in so-called family "honor" killings, have been increasing.
According to an op-ed in the official Palestinian Authority daily:
"The frequency with which crimes against women are committed is rising
constantly, and every day more than one crime is committed against more than
one woman..."
[Al-Ayyam, Aug. 7, 2012]
Palestinian Media Watch notes that the murders have been widely condemned by
Palestinian officials and human rights activists, some of whom have called
for new legislation and longer prison terms. Others have argued that the
killings won't stop until there is a change in Arab - Muslim culture.
An op-ed in the official Palestinian Authority daily said that legislation
won't be effective unless there is a "cultural revolution" rejecting honor
killings:
"There are some who even praise and glorify this [honor killings] as a
manly, heroic act, turning it into an aspect of [our] culture that molds the
character of Arab and Islamic societies.
If we wish to free our society from this crime's octopus grasp, we must
first admit that without a cultural revolution that will cleanse our
perceptions, our books, and our heritage from sanctifying murder performed
in the name of Allah and honor... we will not be able to take a single step
towards lessening this crime..."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 6, 2012]
An Israeli-Arab lecturer interviewed on PA TV likewise placed the blame on
hundreds of years of Arab culture:
"Part of our [Palestinian] identity is to kill women... to beat women...
Palestinian identity has its charms, but there are things that we have
adopted from Arab culture for centuries that harm the individual and the
woman."
[PA TV (Fatah), June 24, 2012]
Click to view
http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=588&fld_id=588&doc_id=7244
An op-ed criticized the "tribal mentality" that justifies the murder of
women:
"Every day, more than one crime is committed against more than one woman...
I shall criticize out loud the social culture that still seeks
justifications for the murder of women. The rumors and justifications for
murder heard after the killing of these two [victims] led a woman journalist
to write an article demanding that we respect the reason for killing the
girl [in Tulkarem]... As for the woman from Bethlehem who was murdered in
front of people in the street without anyone trying to save her, people have
already become experts at spreading rumors to convince us that her husband
was right, and that there undoubtedly must be a reason that made the killing
necessary... There is no justification for murder... and there is no country
or country-in-the-making that still bases itself on the tribal mentality."
[Al-Ayyam, Aug. 7, 2012]
Others blame the Palestinian government and legal system for not punishing
the crime severely enough:
"Activist Khawla Al-Azraq...: 'The law reinforces violence against women,
legalizes the murder of women, and protects the murderers, in spite of the
amendments that the President [Abbas] has introduced'... Attorney Salwa
Banura said that the law encourages murders, since arguments for leniency
[mitigating circumstances] are accepted by the courts, and a man who murders
his daughter, wife or sister stays in prison only three months, and is then
released."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 3, 2012]
The Minister of Women's Affairs Rabiha Dhiab led a sit down strike opposite
the PA courts:
"Participants demanded legislation that would provide protection for women
from violence aimed at them and to impose extremely heavy penalties on
murderers of women."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 3, 2012]
The following are longer transcripts of these recent statements, and
additional documentation from the past two years about the problem of
killing women in the name of family "honor" in Palestinian society:
Blaming Arab and Muslim Culture
An op-ed in the official PA daily blamed an outdated "culture that molds the
character of Arab and Islamic societies."
Headline: "Violence against women - a legitimate crime!"
"Our [Arab and Muslim] societies consider the crime of violence against
women, honor killings, and avenging the killing [of relatives], as
legitimate, understandable and [part of] a unique heritage. There are some
who even praise and glorify this as a manly, heroic act, turning it into an
aspect of [our] culture that molds the character of Arab and Islamic
societies.
If we wish to free our society from this crime's octopus grasp, we must
first admit that without a cultural revolution that will cleanse our
perceptions, our books, and our heritage from sanctifying murder performed
in the name of Allah and honor... we will not be able to take a single step
towards lessening this crime, even if the books of [new] laws reach the roof
of Parliament and the civil courts (i.e., no matter how many civil laws are
passed against it.)"
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 6, 2012]
An Israeli Arab university lecturer, Yusuf Jabareen, explained on PA TV that
killing and beating women is a negative part of Palestinian identity taken
from Arab culture that has to be corrected.
Yusuf Jabareen: "Part of our identity is to kill women, for example, to kill
women, to beat women..."
PA TV host: "You generalize."
Jabareen: "No. I don't generalize."
Host: "Not everyone is the same."
Jabareen: "Part of our identity is to attack women - we must acknowledge it.
Every society has its defects and its charms. Palestinian identity has its
charms, but there are things that we have adopted from Arab culture for
centuries that harm the individual and the woman. For example, in recent
months, look how many women were killed in Lod, in Ramle, and in Acre, and
so on. That's part of our identity."
[PA TV (Fatah), June 24, 2012]
Click to view
http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=588&fld_id=588&doc_id=7244
A columnist in the PA daily condemned honor killings, calling them "racist
murder":
"None of us who are alive can be honored as long as the mentality of racist
murder, what is called honor killings, exists across the dark society... It
seems that many of us still think of them [women] as the bent rib of Adam,
void of intelligence or religion..."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 10, 2012]
An op-ed condemned "tribal mentality" that seeks to justify the killing of
women:
Headline: "All excuses are rejected out of hand"
"The frequency with which crimes against women are committed is rising
constantly, and every day more than one crime is committed against more than
one woman...
The latest two incidents, in which a girl in Tulkarem and a woman in
Bethlehem were murdered, led to the writing of this column, in which I shall
criticize out loud the social culture that still seeks justifications for
the murder of women. The rumors and justifications for murder after the
killing of these two [victims] led a woman journalist to write an article
demanding that we respect the reason for killing the girl [in Tulkarem]...
As for the woman from Bethlehem who was murdered in front of people in the
street without anyone trying to save her, people have already become experts
at spreading rumors to convince us that her husband was right, and that
there undoubtedly must be a reason that made the killing necessary...
There is no justification for murder... and there is no country or
country-in-the-making that still bases itself on the tribal mentality. The
law and the right to life must be respected, and the criminals must be
punished. All excuses are rejected out of hand; we refuse to agree to
murder... We reject measures that protect the murderers, and the
justifications that claim that this keeps the unity and cohesiveness of
society, since our cohesiveness and unity will be strengthened only through
justice."
[Al-Ayyam, Aug. 7, 2012]
Former PA Minister of Health condemned forced marriages of women to men "50
years older" in the following op-ed:
"In less than two weeks, there were two reports of women murdered for
reasons that seem to be connected to honor. The last case, a woman from the
Hebron district, was murdered by her father and brother after her husband
expelled her from their shared home. This is the twelfth case since the
beginning of 2012 of what has been called 'honor crimes.'
The father of the girl is now guilty of his daughter's murder, but in the
indictment against the murderer, the father, it is not mentioned that this
is not the first time that he murdered her. He already murdered the victim,
his daughter and flesh and blood, a number of years earlier when he married
her off to a man who was 50 years older than her. In other words, he married
her to someone the age of a grandfather...
Unfortunately, the murderer didn't act alone and found partners to his
crime: his son, the brother of the murder victim, and the corrupt doctor who
agreed to write a death certificate. This shows that there is public support
for violence against women and that the perpetrators of this crime are ready
to prepare excuses and even cover it up forever, so that the criminals do
not receive a proper punishment."
[Al-Ayyam, Aug. 10, 2012]
Blaming the legal system
One murder given prominence in the PA press was the killing of Nancy Zaboun,
a Palestinian woman murdered by her husband. According to the PA daily, her
husband killed her because she wanted to work for a few days to earn money
to buy her son a birthday present.
"Bethlehem district governor, Abd Al-Fatah Hamail, denounced the crime
[murder of Nancy Zaboun by her husband because she wanted to work] and said
that this act contradicts the customs of the Palestinian people. He stressed
that the accused man would be brought to justice, and he spoke about the
amendments which President Mahmoud Abbas has introduced into the lenient
sections of [law regarding] murder [of women]; these assure that every man
found guilty will receive his punishment, with no other consideration...
Expert and activist Khawla Al-Azraq criticized the use of the present law of
personal status, saying: 'It is a disgrace that we are still using the law
of personal status that was legislated in the 1950's. This Jordanian law has
already been amended a number of times in Jordan, but we are still using it.
The law reinforces violence against women, legalizes the murder of women,
and protects the murderers, in spite of the amendments that the President
[Abbas] has introduced'...
Attorney Salwa Banura said that the law encourages murders, since arguments
for leniency [mitigating circumstances] are accepted by the courts, and a
man who murders his daughter, wife or sister stays in prison only three
months, and is then released."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 3, 2012]
The Minister of Women's Affairs Rabiha Dhiab led a delegation that met with
the President of the Supreme Court to demand "an end to the leniency
employed in cases of honor crimes."
"Justice Farid Al-Jalad, President of the Supreme Court, met yesterday at
his office in Ramallah with a delegation from the Ministry for Women's
Affairs and from the Women's Union, headed by Minister of Women's Affairs
Rabiha Dhiab... to discuss the causes for the recurrence of crimes against
women, following the three latest crimes that took place in different cities
in the West Bank and Gaza. The delegation stressed its faith in the
Palestinian legal system and demanded an end to the leniency employed in
cases of honor crimes...
At the same time, a sit down strike organized by Dhiab was held opposite the
courts compound in Ramallah... in which participants demanded legislation
that would protect women from violence directed at them and impose extremely
heavy penalties on murderers of women."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 3, 2012]
New legislation
"Representatives of a number of feminist institutes demanded the swift
enactment of laws in the area of personal status to protect families from
violence, along with steps to deter the killing of women. This was said
during the demonstration yesterday in Ramallah... that protested the culture
of crimes of murder against women for what is called "honor"... The
organizer of the "Civil Organizations for Struggle against Violence against
Women" explained that two women murdered in Bethlehem and Hebron had
approached the police, but it did not supply them with protection and did
not save their lives."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 10, 2012]
"President Abbas decided yesterday to appoint a legal committee, made up of
his legal advisor, Hassan Al-Awri, and the Minster of Justice, Ali Muhana,
to examine the law of personal status and others. This in order to improve
the laws and amend them, so Palestinian women's rights will be protected and
defend them from oppression, violence, and discrimination. The president's
decision comes following the increase in attacks and cases of murder of
women."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 10, 2012]
Arrest of man who stabbed his daughter to death:
"Commander of the Tulkarem police, Ma'aruf Al-Barbari, said... that on the
second day of Ramadan, a father fatally stabbed his daughter several times,
even though her family had celebrated her success in the matriculation
examinations a day prior to her death, and she had achieved an average of
88.
He stressed that investigations were still going on to uncover the motives
and causes for this chilling crime, and noted that the girl's father had
been arrested. He called upon residents to act responsibly and not to rush
to pass judgment on their children, and destroy the family. He stressed that
following the so-called family honor killings of many girls, it turned out
after pathological examination and autopsy -- that the victims were
virgins."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 24, 2012]
Violence against women in PA society- past attempts at change
While the subject of "honor killing" has received significant press lately,
the problem is not new. Already in 2010, a Palestinian MP called for action
noting that 62% of Palestinian women report they are "victims of violence."
At that time, the spokesman of the Hebron police tried to minimize the
problem saying that the severity of the reports are "exaggerations" and that
men are also victims of violence by women.
"Sahar Al-Kawasmeh, member of the Palestinian Parliament noted that the
percentage of Palestinian women who are victims of violence has reached 62%.
Among these, 23% are subjected to physical violence, which is a worrying
figure.
Ahmad Atawneh, Director of Public Relations for the Hebron police, said that
there are exaggerations in the presentation of the severity of violence
against women, and that the statistics that the police have compiled show
that there exists counter-violence carried out by women against men."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 4, 2010]
In February 2011, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights published
statistics on the frequency of "honor killings" and criticized the lenient
prison sentences given by the courts, which view killing to defend "family
honor" as an acceptable extenuating circumstance for murder:
Headline: "The phenomenon of murdering women - disregard for the law and
reinforcement of traditions with no basis in religious law"
"Director of the Unit for Women's Affairs at the Palestinian Center for
Human Rights, Muna Al-Shawa, said that the Center is concerned about the
recurring crime of murder of women in the Palestinian territories for
so-called 'family honor.' This is a result of the immunity given to the
criminal because of light sentences, such that the maximum sentence does not
exceed three years [in jail] shortened [for good behavior], meaning, nearly
24 months...
Al-Shawa emphasized that according to the statistics of the Palestinian
Center for Human Rights, 13 cases of honor-killings took place last year.
The victims included 9 women, a boy, and 3 men....
It is well-known that instances of murder of women are not a new phenomenon,
but have been going on for many years. Several studies have been carried out
on this issue, including special research carried out by the Project for the
Support and Training of Women, as part of the Mental Health program in Gaza,
in 2005... This research noted that all instances of murder for so-called
family honor involve women [as victims], and do not involve men. Similarly,
it turns out that instances of murder were carried out for various criminal
reasons, but were attributed to family honor, so that the criminal would
escape sentencing and would benefit from the extenuating circumstances
awarded to him by law."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 13, 2011]
In May 2011, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas was praised for introducing new
legislation.
"Women's organizations, human rights organizations, workers' unions, the
political factions and the various social organizations in the Hebron
district have hailed the President's [Abbas'] decision to instruct the legal
advisor to the Presidential Office to amend sections 340 and 98 of the
Jordanian Penal Act 16 of 1960, which allows those who have carried out
crimes of murdering women in so-called honor killings, to escape justice...
The participants in the meeting once again demanded that the judiciary and
executive branches [of the government] speed up investigation of the
circumstances of the murder of the young woman Ayah Barad'iyya (21) from
Zurif."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 15, 2011]
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