Publication Date

2002

Document Type

Article

Abstract

A young woman could not endure another night with the elderly man she was forced to marry, so she slipped out of the house and spent the night with the young man she had loved for years and desperately wanted to marry. When the woman's father learned of the illicit behavior, he entered the police station where she had sought refuge and fired four shots at her. He shed his daughter's blood to cleanse the family's honor. Jordan, 1999

A jealous husband returned home from an evening at the mosque and accused his pregnant wife of having an affair. The wife refuted the allegations, but her unbelieving husband responded by gouging out her eyes and cutting off her nose and ears as a form of punishment. The wife survived the brutal attack, but must now carry the scars. Pakistan, 2000

A husband returned home early from work and found his wife sleeping in the matrimonial bed with another man. The husband immediately chased the lover away with a menacing rifle. The husband began to drink heavily and engaged in a fiery argument with his wife. After several hours of drinking and arguing, the husband killed his wife for her infidelity. Maryland, United States, 1994

The common thread that links these stories is not just the violence-it is the extremely light sentence the husbands and father received for these acts of violence. For centuries, women have faced, and continue to face, violence in their homes in countries around the world. This violence against women is not restricted to a particular race, nationality, socio-economic level, education, religion, or culture. In fact, the place where women most often encounter violence is in their homes, and the perpetrator is most often a male relative or romantic interest. Though women face many forms of violence in the home, this comment focuses on two common forms of violence that women encounter in many Arab countries, ta'ah and so-called honor killings, and compares these forms of violence with similar violence found historically in the United States. This comment then extends the comparison to the resulting vestiges of these historical forms of violence in the United States. By comparing modern-day Arab ta'ah and so-called honor killing laws with past and present American wife abuse and "heat-of-passion" laws, Americans and Arabs can better understand each other. Upon increased understanding, Arab states can follow the lead of the United States and implement changes that will protect Women in family settings.

Americans might think they are far removed from the barbaric actions of ta 'ah and so-called honor killings; however, a significant number of American women have suffered and continue to suffer violence similar to their Middle Eastern sisters. This paper shows that the United States has historically faced a similar injustice concerning so-called honor killings, and that in the past, male perpetrators received no punishment, or mitigated sentences for killing wives- and girlfriends who were suspected of being unchaste or unfaithful. This injustice continues in present-day United States where men continue to receive mitigated sentences for killing wives and girlfriends whom the men believe are unchaste.

Publication Title

Southern Illinois University Law Journal

Volume

26

Issue

3

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