Honor-Killings: The Long Shadow of Tradition
Yet in real life a nightmare still haunts the lives of Turkey's women and girls. Daily, Turkish media runs headlines in the "third pages" that "a certain Ayse or Fatma is strangled after a decision of the 'family council' for adultery", that "young women stabbed by brother after leaving home to live with her lover," or even "ex-husband kills ex-wife for rumors of prostitution."
Concrete "reasons" for each and every case might vary but all such violence against women are justified by their male aggressors with "honor" -the husband's honor, the family's honor, the neighborhood's or village's honour- what in turn receives the aggressor a certain degree of tolerance or even respect from the public, and also from the law. As a rule the aggressor escapes the heaviest punishment if he would be able to prove that he had killed the girl or woman to "restore his honor."
Looking from a broader perspective -in spite of lack of accurate and reliable data-- it might be observed that honor killings are rather a greater threat for women in the southeast than the rest of the country, among the illiterate population than the relatively literate, and among the women from isolated remote communities than among those from the urban areas.
"Goods" such as cattle or wheat
Honor killings, albeit having common roots with ordinary domestic violence, are however continuum of even savager forms of male-domination rooted in tribal and/or feudal relations where women's status is understood within the context of "materials of production" and "goods" such as "cattle" or "wheat."
Turkey's celebrated poet Nazim Hikmet's verse provides a graphical expression for the status of woman in the countryside at the beginning of the past century: "Women, our women, who have to wait the cattle to start their meal."
In such communities, girls are the capital for tribal/rural families. The marriages are decided between the fathers of the bride and groom, and the groom's family is obliged to pay a considerable sum to "buy" the bride.
Therefore, honor killings are not only killings for "honor" literally but a deterrent act to set the public standard for the "value" of the "good" -the women. "Honor", or "decency" what is exemplified in "sexual sterility", the measure of which is "virginity", comprise one of the basic qualities of this particular "good". It must not be spoiled, it must be protected and preserved for the "end user" and it must be sold for the possible highest price. Hence the household chief's pride and honor as the owner of this "good" is protected under the shadow of violence.
Blood money and honor money
According to findings of jurist Vildan Yirmibeşoğlu,a local proverb in southeast Gaziantep province says: " blood money is 500 golden Lira, honor money is 1000 golden lira".
This sheer male dominated customs and culture however gain broader influence as long as it gains public consent and shared also by women, actual victims of the tradition and becomes a measure for all. Hence, the killers in some honor-killings are women, mothers or other female relatives of the victim, who execute the customary justice.
Yet in almost every case the victim is always a young woman, whose untouchedness is the basic indicator of "honor".
Massive emigration from the countryside in the last 5 decades and from the southeast in particular in the last two decades, have drawn the remnants of these ancient customs in Turkeys suburban areas in such major cities as Istanbul and Ankara, and also in European capitals where total 3 million gastarbeiters from Turkey have flocked since the 1960s.
In almost every honor-killing committed in big cities the victim and the aggressor are generally found out to come from an emigrant family.
Women's consciousnesses
Paradoxically, however, due to increased political activity during the 20 years of conflict in the Kurdish populated southeast, women's consciousnesses have considerably grown, and counter tendencies in gender relations are at work too. Therefore unless thoroughly researched and backed with statistical data it cannot easily be concluded that honor-killings are still accepted in these areas as legitimate as they had been in past decades.
It should be admitted that Islamic lore and customs play a conservative role in the continuation of male-domination and domestic violence against women including honor killings. Providing "stoning" for women in case of "adultery", granting men the right to beat their wives case of disobedience the Islamic shariat inevitably gains further legitimity for male domination and domestic violence.
The parallelism between the relatively higher popular backing of the Islamic party and relatively greater number of honor-killings in the southeast and northeast provinces might provide an indicator. Contrastingly honor-killings among the Alevite community, who profess a very libertarian interpretation of Islam is almost an exception.
Nevertheless it would go too far to claim that honor-killings are recommended or tolerated in the Islamic lore, what provides a relatively higher level of justice at the age of its birth and provides a clearer distinction between the private and public spheres and has developed a complex legal structure during centuries of existence.
Women's Shelters Conference
Turkey's women continue struggling for total liberation from the violence again women. Fourth Conference on Women's Shelters Conference has convened in Antalya on Nov. 24-25 2000 in south port city of Antalya. One of the Working Groups formed in the conference devoted its work to "Honor Crimes-Killings", the others were Independent Women's Shelters", "Women's Information Centers" and "Rape and War".
In the final communiqué the conference particularly under stressed the importance of special campaigns for increasing public awareness for honor killings. And also campaigning for reforming the Turkish Penal Code to provide heavier punishment for incest, rape, and virginity controls honor killings and other honor related crimes.
Jurist Vildan Yirmibeşoğlu is of the opinion that until this day the state has neglected "domestic violence" and the legal provisions have remained insufficient in deterring potential aggressors.
"The law, provides immunity or reduction in many cases for honor-killings under the justification of "saving the aggressor's honor'," she says.
"The legal equality of women with men is not sufficient," she believes. "The unwritten laws of society imposed under customs, traditions and mentality are more powerful than written laws. For women's liberation this mentality should be destroyed first and foremost," she concludes. (NM)