"Honor Killings" - Additional Notes

While I was in Amman, I was briefly able to speak with Rana Husseini, a journalist for The Jordan Times, who has extensively tried to shed light on the travesty and criminal act of "honor" killings, which is based on Jordanian law, Article 340 of the Jordanian penal code, which states, "A husband or a close blood relative who kills a woman caught in a situation highly suspicious of adultery will be totally exempt from sentence." Article 98, meanwhile, guarantees a lighter sentence for male killers of female relatives who have committed an "act which is illicit in the eyes of the perpetrator."  Even if a female family member is rumored to have done something immoral (without any proof) she can be killed by a male family member. If she is seen walking with a man, or even in talking to someone of the opposite sex, her actions could be deemed immoral, and could cause shame upon the family name, thus legally giving any male family member grounds to kill her. Before I first even thought about going to Jordan for my internship, this topic angered and saddened me immensely. I was hoping to make this the main topic I would work on while in Amman, but wasn't able to during this trip.  Although I wasn't able to meet Rana in person, due to short notice and scheduling, it was good to learn more about honor killings, and what has been attempted to try to stop them, or to at least make punishments much harsher for those who commit them, in an attempt, to change behavior among male Jordanian family members who even remotely contemplate such an horrid action.  This is a topic I would like to help with in the future with the social enterprise I start and in perhaps working with Rana and those who have been working on this issue for years, as it breaks my heart. I highly recommend Rana's book, Murder in the Name of Honour, which is an unfathomable open door to a world into the lives of these girls who are murdered brutally by their own family, for a "perceived" immoral act, immoral being subject to whomever chooses to interpret it that way...This should be a world issue of concern, because as Rana explains, it even occurs in the West. Behavior can change, but harsh and extensive consequence must be present in order to bring about that change, and attempts to squash Article 340 of the penal code, have been unsuccessful so far. This topic should be of concern to every female in the world, and will take many females standing together to say "enough is enough, no more."