Posted on 06/03/2004 9:04:01 AM PDT by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
A Jordanian man has reportedly shot his unmarried cousin dead as she recovered in hospital after delivering a baby.
The 35-year-old who has not been named then surrendered to police, saying he acted to "cleanse his family's honour".
Stunned medical staff were present as the suspect and his two brothers ran into the woman's room and opened fire.
The 25-year-old mother was hit by six gunshots, the Jordan Times reported, quoting official sources. The day-old baby lying next to her was unharmed.
The two brothers reportedly turned themselves in later on. None of the people involved were named by the paper.
Murder charges
The newborn baby - who was delivered by Caesarean section on Monday - was sent to a government social institution, the official source was quoted as saying.
The main suspect is to be charged with premeditated murder and his brothers with being accessories to premeditated murder, the source said.
Jordan Times says this is the third case of so-called "honour" killing in the country this week. It also quotes official figures which say that nine women have died in such killings this year. No explanation is given for the apparent rise in deaths.
Campaigners say Jordanian courts often hand down very lenient sentences for male relatives who commit honour crimes.
Last year, the Jordan Times reported that a man received a four-month prison sentence for murdering his younger pregnant sister "in a fit of rage".
Parliament has twice rejected proposed changes in the law that would impose harsher punishments for "honour killings".
Because you'll then make the mistake of equating the effort required to overcome this to the degree of Islamic fundamentalism present. But one is disconnected from another. You can be dealing with a group of relatively secular people in the area, and yet still have to deal with this.
It's important to recognize that in this case, Islam is piggybacking on this ancient attitude/behavior, not the reverse. Even if you got rid of Islam overnight, this would still remain.
"Don't make the mistake of equating this with Islam. This kind of thinking predates Islam by hundreds, if not thousands of years."
Yeah? Well, just tell me what other religion practices it!
Celebrate Diversity!!!
or better yet a pig in every poke
"[J]ust tell me what other religion practices it!"
I don't mean to speak for the other poster, but it is my impression that this type of behaviour is also prevelent in India amoung the Hindus. Of course there are a bunch of Muslims in India as well, but I think the Hindus also abuse women in a like manner.
Please correct me if I'm wrong.
Not convinced. Sorry.
Awaiting the pleas for legislative help from the Jordanian branch of N.O.W....
There are only two women in the Jordanian bracnh of n.o.w. and they both wear panties over their heads in public.
Murder is murder. Four months for murder.... BEAM ME UP !!!
I believe you are correct.
However, until islam either disavows such nonsense or is eradicated, we won't get rid of it. So, unless islam is going to change (an unlikely prospect, all things considered, since these bozos even try these dishonor killings in civlized countries where they get locked away for a long time), eliminating islam may well be a logically necessary condition for the ending of dishonor killings.
And these are the MODERATE muslims. We have to keep these monsters and their evil "religion" out of the US.
"Don't make the mistake of equating this with Islam."
No need....they already do!
First things first.
This barbaric practice has most to do with strict patriarchal societies. From a National Geographic article:
Hundreds, if not thousands, of women are murdered by their families each year in the name of family "honor." It's difficult to get precise numbers on the phenomenon of honor killing; the murders frequently go unreported, the perpetrators unpunished, and the concept of family honor justifies the act in the eyes of some societies.
Most honor killings occur in countries where the concept of women as a vessel of the family reputation predominates such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Pakistan, Morocco, and Turkey. Some are perpetrated where you'd least expect: Great Brittain, Israel, Italy and Sweden. They are not unknown in Brazil, Ecuador or the African nation of Uganda.
In India more than 5,000 brides die annually because their dowries are considered insufficient. Crimes of passion, which are treated extremely leniently in Latin America, are the same thing with a different name, some rights advocates say.
"In countries where Islam is practiced, they're called honor killings, but dowry deaths and so-called crimes of passion have a similar dynamic in that the women are killed by male family members and the crimes are perceived as excusable or understandable," said Widney Brown, advocacy director for Human Rights Watch.
The practice, she said, "goes across cultures and across religions."
There is nothing in the Koran, the book of basic Islamic teachings, that permits or sanctions honor killings. However, the view of women as property with no rights of their own is deeply rooted in Islamic culture.
Honor killings are perpetrated for a wide range of offenses. Marital infidelity, pre-marital sex, flirting, or even failing to serve a meal on time can all be perceived as impugning the family honor. In one case a husband murdered his wife based on a dream that she had betrayed him. In Turkey, a young woman's throat was slit in the town square because a love ballad had been dedicated to her over the radio.
A 16-year-old mentally retarded girl who was raped in the Northwest Frontier province of Pakistan was turned over to her tribe's judicial council. Even though the crime was reported to the police and the perpetrator was arrested, the Pathan tribesmen decided that she had brought shame to her tribe and she was killed in front of a tribal gathering.
Women accused by family members of bringing dishonor to their families are rarely given the opportunity to prove their innocence. In many countries where the practice is condoned or at least ignored, there are few shelters and very little legal protection.
In Jordan, if a woman is afraid that her family wants to kill her, she can check herself into the local prison, but she can't check herself out, and the only person who can get her out is a male relative, who is frequently the person who poses the threat.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/02/0212_020212_honorkilling.html
While Islamic countries condone this the practice isn't strictly confined to them. I found it disturbing that Western countries with high Middle Eastern immigration are having to deal with "honor" killing as well.
OH MAN Islam is 12th century religion that should he abolish
Dude you suppose welcome your sister kid
HELLO
... as I was saying... :)
Or, like my brother, a poke for every pig!!!
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