Honor Killings and Dowry Deaths - Beliefs Justifying the Murder of Women

A father surrenders to police after fatally shooting his 17-year-old daughter four times in the head. He believed his daughter lost her virginity and did not trust the doctors that had tested her and vouched that she was still a virgin.

The father said he killed her for family honor.

Thousands of women are murdered each year by their families in the name of family honor. Honor killings frequently occur in countries where women are considered property or second-class citizens.

Women are killed for numerous offenses: marital infidelity, premarital sex, flirting, seeking a divorce, victims of rape, or even failing to serve a meal on time.

The United Nations (UN) Commission on Human Rights reports that honor killings have occurred in countries such as Bangladesh, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, Great Britain, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Pakistan, Morocco, Sweden, Turkey, and Uganda.

Dowry Deaths

A 19-year-old bride, after a month of marriage, was allegedly tortured and set ablaze by her in-laws for dowry (money, goods, or estate that a woman brings to her husband in marriage).

Her husband's father insisted on a color television instead of the black and white one given to him. When the bride's mother could not meet the demands, the bride was killed.

In India, over 5000 brides die annually because of insufficient dowries. This is a significant increase since the mid 1980s of around 400. The attitude is that being as tragic as it is, such things are to be expected. Some claim that the numbers simply indicates more cases reported because of increased activity of women's organizations.

Ending the Violence

Even though violence against women is being confronted at the international level as a human rights issue, work needs to be done at the local level, too.

Countries need to recognize that domestic violence is a crime and update their penal codes.

With many deaths simply written off by police, law enforcement and prosecutors must be convinced to treat these crimes seriously.

With many politicians arguing that violence against women are occurring among uneducated, illiterate people whose attitudes will not be changed, educating the public about human rights will add the knowledge they need and women will not have to suffer and lose their lives.

International campaigns and media attention shines a light on this issue and provides those working inside the system a voice to let the world know what is going on in their countries. With support from others, they can continue to work for change in their governments.