Honor killing refers to the murder of a social group member by other group members, who is believed to bring dishonor to the said social group. Honor killings are rather common in the Middle East and South Asia; however, they can occur in other regions. Human right organizations condemn honor killings, and I tend to agree with this decision because, in most cases, the severity of the punishments does not coincide with the “offend.” Reasons for homicide include having a relationship outside the family, having premarital sex, or even being the victim of rape. The family who performs honor killing does not ostracize the abuser in a sexual crime.
Honor killings are highly associated with the religious beliefs and practices of a social group or a family. Farnaz reports the case of Romina Ashfari, a 14-year-old girl who was decapitated by her father because she brought “shame” on their family by having a boyfriend and violating the Iranian dress code. Honor killing is a tool to uphold power in the community and keep the strict patriarchal hierarchy. The families who refuse to perform the killing may be subjected to ostracization from other communities or even punished legally, depending on the severity of the violation.
Human rights organizations, including those operating in Iran, report that this tradition violates women’s rights, leaving them without needed protection. The penal code in Iran exempts fathers and male parental guardians from punishment for murdering their child (Farnaz). Despite that honor killing practice is dangerous for any community member, regardless of their gender and age, the majority of the victims are women. This practice legitimizes domestic abuse coming from male family members and criminalizes women’s rights.
Cultural relativism restricts me from voting on this issue because I am not a member of the Iranian community. This theory helps recognize cultural differences and complexities, promoting the idea that no moral judgment can be universally valid (Tilley 5). On the other hand, absolutism suggests that some moral claims should be widely accepted as correct (Tilley 5). Absolutism presents a challenge in the form of deciding who checks the validity of moral judgments. In the case of honor killing, cultural relativists will say this is an issue where outside parties should not be involved, and this is a tradition important to this particular culture. However, there are moral agents from the said community who still disagree with honor killing. Despite the weaknesses of absolutism theory, such severity of violence cannot be justified by cultural relativism.
References
Fassihi, Farnaz. “A Daughter Is Beheaded, and Iran Asks if Women Have a Right to Safety.” NYTimes.com, The New York Times, 2020. Web.
Tilley, John J. “Cultural relativism.” The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2007, pp. 1-44.