Crimes of Honor

Essay by cyndiaCollege, UndergraduateA-, July 2004

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Crimes of Honor

Since the beginning of time in their culture, men in Jordan have committed crimes that are cruel and unjust to women. These crimes are called ?Honor crimes? since it is believed that the family honor will be restored or ?cleansed? when the killing of the unfaithful girl is complete. This has been part of their culture and is encouraged. The victims of these horrible killings are the murderer?s own blood relatives, who are innocent and helpless young women. Even in this day and age, women have to live in fear of their own family, and many are killed for unfair reasons.

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is a Middle Eastern country with a population slightly higher than five million. The Islamic faith dominates the population. Approximately 95% of all people in Jordan are Islamic followers. Many of Jordan?s people suffer from unemployment and debt, which has an affect on the household.

In Jordan, acts of honor crimes are legal and barely punished. In their culture, the crimes are not only forgiven, but also rewarded and respected. The village people celebrate these killers. They are treated as heroes. ?The idea of murder as a way to cleanse family honor is said to be most common in Jordan and among Palestinians? (Kourhi193). When researching honor killings, one would notice that Jordan is a country notorious of these crimes.

Marriage is an important step in life for a of a young woman in Jordan. From the day of her birth, a girl is raised to believe she is only good for marriage, and frequently has a distant cousin or relative who she is forced to marry. Arranged marriages are often the reason why a young woman would run away from herf family, possibly because she is in love with another...