Communal, Religious and Social Honor is Associated with Women’s Chastity and Behavior

It is the term usually used to describe the killing of women(and very rarely men too) for marrying somebody outside their caste or religion or community. In some cases it happened for dating or even talking or walking along side some body of the wrong community. The majority of the cases reported are coming from the Middle East, South East Asia and Africa. There are reports of this happening in western countries too, even if rarely
    It is used as an excuse by upper caste people to kill some one of the lower caste. There are reports of this happening as a result of some body's personal rivalries too.
    The majority of cases are reported from Muslim communities. There are quite a few cases from Hindu and Sikh communities as well as many other religious sects and communities around the world.
    Even today in society, girls are usually given second-class status. The family honor is associated with chastity of women in the family. So any transgressions by them is considered detrimental to the family's standing in the community. Usually the accused is killed by men in the family like brothers or father him self. There are cases where ladies in the family them selves act against other ladies. An example is the case of former female chief of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (S.G.P.C.), Bibi Jagir Kaur, who killed her daughter for  eloping with somebody of a lower caste.
    It is part of popular culture as is depicted in the critically acclaimed Malayalam movie "Chemmeen". The chastity of the woman is associated with the safe return of the husband who is going for fishing in to sea.
    There was a case in USA, where parents tied up their daughter and took her in their car to obtain an abortion. The daughter was able to get away when they stopped at a gas station. The white girl in this case was dating a black man.
    There are few cases where men are at the receiving end. This usually happens if the girl's family is from a higher caste or rich (financially or with muscle power).
    A majority of cases are happening in remote areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan. As was the case of Mukhtar Mai who was gang raped in public as a punishment for her brother walking along an upper caste lady. Mukhtar Mai had the courage to survive the ordeal and start a school for the abused women of Pakistan.
    The society approves of these killings on many occasions. So there is no witnesses or complaints. As is visible from the recent killing of the Kurdish lady, Dua Khalil,17, most people including even the police men were just watching the spectacle from side. The video shows the kicking and beating imposed on the half naked lady as men watch in the crowded street. Many people were seen shooting video recordings using their mobile phone cameras. They act like the Romans who thronged the Coliseum to watch the Gladiators fight to death. May be the devil in every human being comes to surface when they get a chance.