3 thoughts on “Scottish couple murdered in suspected ‘honor killing’”

1. What’s an “honour killing”? (apart from being a stupid lie attempting to excuse murder)

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2. Mywall, I’m at work so can’t go linksearching in any depth, but here was a recent case in the West Bank: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/30/honour-killing-west-bank-palestine

   In brief, honour killing is about control: women or couples who’s relationship or marriage pisses off someone they’re related to, and the relative kills her/them. Other times when a woman is sexually assaulted her relatives kill her for having brought ‘dishonour’ on the family. In India it’s often caste-based, in other cases it’s religion (e.g. Banaz Mahmood, a young Kurdish woman in the UK who was raped, tortured and beaten to death by several of her male relatives for having a Muslim boyfriend), but frankly they barely seem to need any excuse.

   A lot of people dislike the designation ‘honour killing’ as it minimises the brutal murder(s) involved. The case I linked to is notable in that it has led to enough outcry that the lower penalties for ‘honour killing’ in the Palestinian territories will hopefully be removed and the cases treated as murder, as they should be.

   (P.S Was your post sarcastic, as in ‘what’s ‘honourable’ about murder’? Apologies if so)

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3. Guess it was good I didn’t marry that West Bank gal I had back in the day. I might have got shot if we went to her grandparent’s home. I think she knew her brother had a hit on me even here in Texas. I think that’s why we broke up.

   Looked her up ten years later and found out she’s a veterinarian. Good for her.

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