Honor killings in Muslim and Western countries in modern times: A critical literature review and definitional implications

Abstract

Honor killings are an ancient phenomenon that has been widely discussed in the professional literature. This article reviews the current literature in the field, using a sociocultural theoretical framework, and critically examines the effect of modernization processes on the phenomenon, distinguishing between Arab and Muslim countries and Western countries. The review shows that despite modernization processes, and at times owing to concerns about these processes, the use of honor killings as a tool to strengthen patriarchal control seems to be widening. The impact of these trends on the definition of honor killings is discussed. An upto-date literature review is necessary to raise awareness of this phenomenon of violence and to establish effective prevention programs. Directions for future research are also discussed.

Social determinants of violence against adolescent married women and how the women respond to it: A qualitative study in the Kurdish areas of Iran.

“…But one of the most dangerous strategies of women was revenge, which in some cases turned to betrayal, and this issue could eventually lead to the murder of them and their sexual partners. Married women who engage in sexual relations with someone other than their husband in Iran, because of the taboos and sensitivities that exist in this field, as well as the laws of the country of Iran, this issue can lead to their death; honor killings in Iran are one of the most common types of murders (Ne’eman-Haviv, 2021). Of course, in some cases, the severity of the revenge of the abused women on their husbands was reduced to behaviors such as not caring about the house, ignoring the sexual needs of the husband, not paying attention to the husband’s family, and not paying attention to her husband in front of others, which was associated with fewer risks for her.…”

Making Sense of Honor Killings?

“…Past work relevant to our first puzzle mostly provides quasi-tautological or general, black-box type, explanations, arguing that honor killings are motivated by honor or attributing them to culture, religion, gender inequality, patriarchy, low socio-economic status, and rapid modernization (e.g. Dayan 2021;Faqir 2001;Gengler et al 2018;Ne'eman-Haviv 2021a, 2021b, without explaining the micro mechanisms that intervene in the causal chain, missing out the decision-making processes behind the murders and the interactions between families that sustain honor norms (see Muller and Schrage 2021 for a similar critique of some explanations in the political sociology of incarceration).…”