Hi all,

Just when I thought that women were becoming more equal in Turkey, that the segregation between the sexes was fading, I have realised that the disgraceful war of inequality still rages!.....

First I will say,

I know how important family is for Turkish people.
I know how important honour is for Turkish people and I understand the significance of religion in Turkey; but in relation to honour killings, these things just do not add up in my mind.

Upon hearing that honour killings are still seen as quite normal and acceptable in Turkey I am utterly shocked...

I know that Turkey is a traditional country, and honour plays an important part in families, but I did not realise that honour killings were still so acceptable...

I thought that laws had been passed so that honour killings are not seen as acceptable and the suspects are punished...

But now I learn that people are still able to commit the crime with minimal punishment if they say that they were 'provoked'.

I cannot understand why honour killing exists- Islam does not support it and if one tries to defend these acts with the importance of honour, how can one argue that this is more important than the life of their own child? Surely it's being dishonourable to take the life of your own child or relative.

I cannot get my head around it. As naive as I may sound, this issue really frustrates and saddens me.

Please could someone fill me in a bit more on this......

Honour Killing

Here is a whole thread devoted to it.

Thankyou

In Turkey honor killings are not approved by the majority, and I don't want to start a debate here but it's practised by a certain group of people who are attached to their own laws and traditions. They are not civilized yet, they need to be educated, because these people who commit these honor killings are very proud of their acts and they strongly believe that it's the right thing to do. In the past years, there was a reduction of punishment for the honor killings because it was a tradition but lately after debates on this matter and strong pressions from Turkish people, this reduction is removed because it was a kind of encouragement. I think if we punish them really with a normal murder crime, it can dissuade them from practicing it, but anyway they see the honor of their family more important than anything else, so we have to change this primitive mentality, but know that it is not a turkish tradition, Turks have a very old history from the central asie and Turks have had never that tradition. Islam does not allow such a thing either. But I think the young generation are becoming to have more commen sense and civilised because I've recently read an article about a young man who was given the duty to kill his own sister who frequanted with a man or whatever refused to kill her and he tried to protect her, and this is a very riskful thing for him also because the family assembly who is composed of the male family members gathers and decides what to do with the girl and if they once give a decision to kill her, she has to be killed and opposing that decision needs courage.
Sometimes they force the girl to suicide, they close the girl to a room and give her a rope to hqng herself and then they say that she suicided. I hope they will decrease but it will take time, but I want to say again that honor killing is not seen normal by the majority of turkish people.

You should make sure you get correct information before jumping to conclusions.

You might want to read about it here, and check the external links on that site as well.

Sorry, I worded it wrong. I didn't mean normal as such.

I was reading an article and the statistics shocked me, particularly as these official statistics do not account for all of the cases.

I was reading that people keep quiet about these acts when hearing about them, because it is private-does not concern them and therefore 'seems acceptable'. From the way the killings are (or are not) talked about it just seems as though they are seen to be acceptable too-that's how I interpret it, although thats probably my naivety.

Elisa,
I have read up on this topic, and could not get my head around it and that's why I brought it up on here.
I know what an honour killing is.