Three days ago, social media outlets were filled with outrage after a video of a Jordanian woman, Ahlam, screaming for help while being brutally beaten up by her father went viral online. Ahlam faced continued physical abuse from her family for years. Unfortunately, the end of such abuse was fatal. On the day of the incident, Ahlam ran out to the streets, screaming for help while covered in blood. She was then chased by her father, who then hit her viciously with a brick and left her bleeding to death. After his horrifying action, her father sat next to her body, smoking a cigarette and drinking tea, while her blood covered the street.
A picture by an anonymous artist was trending on social media as people expressed their anger over the ferocious murder of Ahlam.
As the video circulated on social media platforms, eyewitnesses started describing what they heard and saw on the day of the horrendous incident. One source said:
“At 9 p.m., the neighbors heard an unusual screaming. They looked out of their windows, and Ahlam was running in the street with blood all over her body. It appeared that she was trying to escape from her family while they were beating her. Ahlam was begging her mother to intervene, but she remained silent. Her head was crushed with a brick until she died”
A harrowing anonymous eyewitness account circulated on social media describing the vicious murder.
Hashtags like #AhlamScreams and #AhlamWasBetrayed are still trending on social media demanding immediate action against the father from the Jordanian government as well as asking the international community to intervene in ending “honor” killings in Jordan. Princess Basma Bint Talal joined the people in making a statement on Facebook advocating ending violence against women in Jordan.
According to the Balqa governorate police, a report was filed two days before the murder, indicating that a woman in her thirties had been assaulted by her father and could be at high risk. According to the preliminary investigation, Ahlam was put in “government care after members of her family questioned her well-being.” However, she was later released despite the alarming claim. Still, there are no records or explanations on what the report specifically entailed nor what “government care” meant as a measure to protect Ahlam. The father was later arrested and charged with murder after the video went viral. However, a statement by the police on the investigation overall is yet to come.
Unfortunately, Ahlam is not the first, and perhaps not the last, woman to lose her life to the preposterous and barbaric act of “honor killing” that became an embedded concept in the tradition and culture of many countries in the Middle East. Last year, a similar video of another young Palestinian woman, Israa Gharyeeb, went viral on social media showing her screaming for help while her father and male relatives beat her to death. Israa was hospitalized with serious fractures and wounds when her father and brother physically abused her for posting a picture on social media with her fiancé before marriage, an act they deemed “immoral” and “dishonorable” to the family. After brutally assaulting her and sending her to the hospital with severe injuries, her male relatives continued the beating at the hospital until she was announced dead. A video of her screaming at the hospital went viral online. After her murder, the family went public and denied all allegations claiming that Israa’ was “possessed by demons” which made her throw herself down the balcony in an effort to end her own life. Fortunately, after thorough investigation and persistent pressure by the public demanding justice for Israa, the father and the other male relatives were arrested and charged with murder.
A similar heinous crime in Jordan took place a few months ago in May when a brother fatally stabbed his 14-years old sister after finding out that she had a secret Facebook account, another act deemed “dishonorable” by many families in this aggressive patriarchal culture.
Jordan is not the only country losing innocent lives in the name of “honor.” Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and many other countries are also on the list when it comes to this horrific crime. So what is “honor” killing and what are the legal consequences, if any, that murderers face for committing this crime?
Background
Honor Killing (aka Honour or Shame killing) is defined as “the traditional practice in some countries of killing a family member [often a female] who is believed to have brought shame [or dishonor] on the family.” The perpetrators of this vicious crime are usually the male members of the victim’s family, which makes it comparable to domestic violence. However, the distinction between the two is that domestic violence is not necessarily motivated by shame and disgrace brought to the family name and is usually committed by one individual. Honor killing, on the other hand, is usually committed by several family members, often as a collective effort of the males in the family, to control the females’ behavior, and when the results are fatal, to “restore” honor to the family.
The unfortunate reality in countries with high numbers of “honor” killings is that this crime is seen as an absolutely acceptable act and even necessary to “protect” the name of the family from shame and dishonor. This societal misconception makes the crime not only practicable but also associated with high impunity, especially in Jordan having “one of the highest rates of honor killings in the world.” Jordan had persistent high numbers of cases involving violence against women in the name of “honor” for years. In 2017, the Human Rights Watch reported that “15 to 20 women and girls in Jordan are burned, beaten, or stabbed to death by family members [every year] because they are seen as having transgressed social codes of ‘honor.'” In 2018 alone, Jordan had about 5,240 incidents of “honor” killings. Still, the numbers are not entirely reflective of the reality in Jordan as many killings are “under-reported … due to internal cover-ups,” and even if they do, the perpetrators rely on a culture of impunity covering such crimes.
Additionally, when such an atrocious crime is committed, the societal response by the majority in Jordan is blaming the victim for putting her family in such a position. In many other cases, the response is praising the family for taking actions to “restore” their honor after the victim had violated cultural or religious norms.
So, the question is: given the restrict and misguided conception on the necessity of killing victims in the name of honor, do perpetrators suffer any legal consequences for committing this crime?
Legal Implications Surrounding Honor Killings in Jordan
Overall, in most countries, perpetrators are fully or partially exempt by discriminatory laws from punishment if they kill a female family member in the name of “honor.” The UN human rights chief reported that “perpetrators may even be treated with admiration and given special status within their communities [for committing such a crime].”
Jordan is no exception when it comes to treating this form of violence against women as a lesser crime or even as a justified behavior. Articles 340 and 98 of the Jordanian Penal Code exempt or reduce the punishment of individuals convicted of murdering women in the name of “honor.” Article 340(a) provides:
“A husband who surprises his wife or a close
Article 340(a) of the Jordanian Penal Code
female relative in the act of adultery with
another person, and kills, injures or harms
either of them, or both, shall benefit from a
mitigating excuse.”
Article 340(b) provides a reduced sentence for the perpetrator stating that:
” The perpetrator of a killing or an injury
Article 340(b) of the Jordanian Penal Code
shall benefit from a mitigating excuse if he
surprises a spouse, ascendant, descendent,
or sibling with another person in an unlawful
bed.
Article 98 also provides a reduced sentence on perpetrators who kill in a “fit of rage caused by an unlawful or dangerous act on the part of the victim.” Although none of the provisions specify what an illegitimate or wrongful act might be, all of them are invoked to allow individuals to commit an erroneously justified “crime of passion” in the name of honor.
In Jordan, a country heavily influenced by Islam, many falsely assume that Islam has an impact on imposing lenient laws on this crime. However, provisions controlling honor killings that were implemented in Jordan originally came from France. Article 340 of Jordan’s Penal Code was adopted by the Nepoleon Code Article 324 of France that stipulated:
” Murder, committed by the husband, upon his wife, or by the wife, upon her husband, is not excusable, if the life of the husband or wife, who has committed such murder, has not been put in peril, at the very moment when the murder has taken place.”
“Nevertheless, in the case of adultery, provide for by article 336, murder committed upon the wife as well as upon her accomplice, at the moment when the husband shall have caught them in the fact, in the house where the husband and wife dwell, is excusable.”
The Napoleonic Code Article 324
The provision allowed men to use “crimes of passion” as a defense in claiming provocation or loss of control when the man discovers “in the act” that his wife is being unfaithful. The code was then altered in 1832, so that “the crime of passion defense no longer constituted a complete defense, but rather be sufficient enough to reduce the sentence of the defendant.” Many countries, including Jordan, adopted similar language in their Criminal Penal Code.
Nevertheless, the Islamic Action Front and other religious and cultural conservatives in Jordan oppose eliminating Article 340 from the Penal Code alleging it will allow implementing western values that do not conform with Islam. The opposition continues despite the fatwa (religious edicts) issued by the Iftaa’ Department, which is responsible for religious decrees, declaring honor killing contrary to Sharia law, and describing it as “one of society’s most heinous crimes.” Still, campaigns advocating for removing these provisions remained persistent in Jordan, and in 2001, the Jordanian Parliament passed a temporary law amending the language of Article 340. The provision now reads:
” 1. There shall benefit from the mitigating excuse (`udhr mukhaffaf) whosoever surprises his wife or one of his ascendants or descendants in the crime of adultery or in an unlawful bed, and kills her immediately or kills the person fornicating with her or kills both of them or attacks her or both of them in an assault that leads to death or wounding or injury or permanent disability.
2. Shall benefit from the same excuse the wife who surprises her husband in the crime of adultery or in an unlawful bed in the marital home and kills him immediately or kills the woman with whom he is fornicating or kills both of them or attacks him or both of them in an assault that leads to death or wounding or injury or permanent
disability.3. The right of lawful defense shall not be permitted in regard to the person who benefits from this excuse nor shall the provisions of “aggravated circumstances” (zuruf mushaddida) apply.”
Article 340 as amended by Temporary Law no. 86 of 2001: repeated in
Temporary Law no. 12 2010 with minor edits.
In September 2003, Parliament again added Article 340 on its agenda for ratification, and the upper house twice approved the proposals, but the lower house subsequently rejected it. Although the change was a step in the right direction, the law was not repealed, and it persists to this very day. The only positive change Jordan made to its discriminatory laws covering violence against women in the name of “honor” is amending Article 98 in 2017 to “disallow mitigated sentences for those who commit crimes against women.” Fortunately, in the same year, a landmark decision by the highest court in Jordan imposed harsher sentences on two men who murdered their sister for falling in love with a man. The original sentence ranged from seven to ten years in prison, but the highest court increased it to 15-20 years. The presiding judge, Judge Mohammad Tarawneh (one of the five justices at the Cassation Court, the top judicial authority in the country’s legal system) told the Jordan Times, “We want to send a strong message to the people that killing women in the name of family honor will no longer be tolerated by our court and we chose Mother’s Day to send this message.”
Still, there is another provision in Jordan’s Penal Code that remains widely invoked in these instances despite the change made to Article 98 and 340 – Article 99. Article 99 adds more leniency to the punishment of perpetrators in cases of “honor” killings. The provision “cuts the murderer’s sentence in half when the members of a victim’s family choose not to pursue legal recourse or forgive the killer.” This language makes Article 99 the real problem in cases of “honor” killings since the murderers are the members of the victim’s family. The code, in many instances, basically gives family members who kill in the name of “honor” a get-out-of-jail-free card.
What comes as a more shock to women in Jordan than those discriminatory and cruel laws is that when a woman is deemed to be “at-risk,” she will be detained indefinitely under the 1954 Crime Prevention Law. A report by the Penal Reform International showed that 43% of women in prison in Jordan are there for administrative detention. Meaning those women are detained because “they are at risk of being harmed by their family because of a perceived moral transgression such as adultery, consensual sex outside of marriage (known as zinna) or being seen in the presence of an unrelated male.” Many of those females are detained for years, and in order to grant them a release, the government will only “require signed assurances from their families that they will not be harmed.” The government justifies imprisoning women who are considered to be at high-risk by saying there are no alternatives available to protect those victims. However, creating shelters for abused women and eliminating codes that normalized this practice are apparent alternatives the government should undertake. Imprisoning victims, instead of the abusers, is an irrational, cruel, and inhumane measure Jordanian officials are taking to “protect” females from violence.
All the absurd codes surrounding this practice normalize killing victims in the name of honor and flourish a culture of impunity to perpetrators. “Honor” killing in countries with dominant patriarchal views is driven by cultural norms that deem females in society as the property of men. The practice is ignited by the long-standing norm that women are the vessel of the family’s honor and must always remain inferior to men. Jordan is no exception to this widely held view. The systemic perception of women as the symbols defining family honors is extensively spread around the country. When that symbol is “tainted,” the majority of Jordanian families believe that honor can only be restored by physically abusing and even killing the female.
The societal legitimacy of committing violence against women in Jordan, followed by the government’s inaction and lenient laws, makes this practice prevalent in Jordan to this day, but it is time to end this atrocious crime. Change must come not only from the Jordanian government but from the international community as a whole. We can no longer simply brush “honor” killings aside as some bizarre and retrograde atrocity that happens somewhere else. It is time to recognize it as a serious human right violation that must be condemned immediately.
Even though change must start with changing laws and eliminating those that ease the way for perpetrators to commit this crime, Jordan also needs to challenge social norms to eradicate the problem. However, the most crucial step advocates and officials must take towards changing this erroneous culture is to stop associating the word “honor” with this crime and lending the practice validity by twisting its terminology. By doing so, they are embracing the perspectives of the attackers rather than the victims, and are allowing the behavior to persist in a culture of misogyny. In the end, there is nothing honorable about “honor” killing; it is barbaric murder, pure and simple.
Are there any petitions we can sign to help? This is so terrible.
Thank you for your interest and commitment to taking action against this horrific practice. Unfortunately, I’m unaware of new petitions to sign in Jordan, all the ones I could find are very old. However, you can click on the hashtags (hyperlinked in the article) to join people in their demands on social media platforms. I will also keep an eye on steps to be taken in Jordan and update you accordingly.
1. Thank you for separating “honor” killings from Islam and revealing the European roots. Many people still believe that such horrid practices are key elements of Islam when in reality, Islam decries “honor” killings as you mentioned: “the fatwa (religious edicts) issued by the Iftaa’ Department, which is responsible for religious decrees, declaring honor killing contrary to Sharia law, and describing it as ‘one of society’s most heinous crimes.'”
2. “Article 99 adds more leniency to the punishment of perpetrators in cases of “honor” killings. The provision ‘cuts the murderer’s sentence in half when the members of a victim’s family choose not to pursue legal recourse or forgive the killer.'”
The only way I could see to get around this would be if a female family member or non-participating male family member pursues legal action or does not forgive the killer. It is unclear if one or a handful of family members could be sufficient to prevent the “honor” killer’s sentence from being reduced. Additionally, in the case of an “honor” killing, would speaking out against the killer also taint a family’s honor and therefore anyone who may want to speak out against the “honor” killing would be silenced for fear of being murdered themselves.
3. On another point, I am interested on the societal repercussions of families that refuse to engage in “honor” killings when a family member brings “shame” or “dishonor”? This may help to understand why “honor” killers fear losing/tainting the family’s honor that they are willing to murder their own cousin, sister, or daughter.
1. Yes! It is crucial to understand that “honor” killing is a cultural practice, not religious. In fact, there is no religion, not just Islam, that encourages this behavior. Unfortunately, Islamic religious extremists refuse to accept this fact and are still erroneously justifying this practice under Islamic concepts. As a result, many people in society who blindly follow religious men (especially in the Muslim world) end up believing this flawed justification and consider themselves doing the “right” thing by killing the victim.
2. You are absolutely correct. Article 99 is mostly invoked when the other family members, who were not part of the killing itself, would refuse to press charges on the murderer. For example, if the father killed his daughter in the name of “honor,” and the mother decided not to press charges against her husband or waive the right to litigate, Article 99 would be easily invoked. This is usually the case since the mother will rarely go against her husband’s wishes out of fear, which goes back to your question about disagreeing with the killing out of fear. The only gray area in this provision is that it says nothing about private rights, and it appears that courts have broad discretion in claiming an absence of private rights litigation to make a finding of extenuating circumstances warranting a reduced sentence. The unfortunate reality in all of this is that this flawed belief is spread extensively in society and it is rare to find members of the family’s victims themselves disagreeing with it, even when fear is not a factor. The same case goes to law enforcement and officials who might take a lenient stance against the murderer if they hold the same beliefs. It all ties back to the notion that this is a cultural practice, not religious. Social norms and long-standing cultural traditions are at stake when one challenges this practice, and in a patriarchal society that views women inferior to men and defines the masculinity of men by how much control they have over their female family members, it is hard to find those who have the courage to speak up and disagree.
3. From my personal experience living in Jordan for almost nine years, society views those who do not “clean” the shame a female had brought to the family as a disgrace to society and will be deemed as they have accepted the dishonorable behavior the female did. The notion is that refusing to restore honor makes them less of men, which is a shameful act by itself in a society controlled by patriarchal beliefs. Many families who believe in “honor” killing will refuse to talk/befriend the family members who have been “tainted” with shame. If the family had more females (other than the victim herself), then men from neighboring families will refuse to marry them. The closest concept I can think of that might make this idea clearer in the American world is being labeled as “cuckold,” although in cases of “honor” killings, wives, daughters, and sisters can all be the victims. You can also check this study (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23744567/) to understand better the motives behind “honor” killings in Jordan.