My Honor Killing

451 Words2 Pages

The abusive power held by men in Islamic relationships has been highlighted through the story My Honor Killing by Edna Yaghi. This story follows Huda who has grown up in a Muslim religion that believes in the assertion and the dominance of men in marriages and families, where the men in the families hold all power.

Throughout her life Huda had always experienced the dominance and power of men. Her father being her first experience of submitting herself and her beliefs to her own fathers authority. “My father sent me off to the kitchen because the decisions made in our family were his” This shows the extent of men’s power, where Huda was unable to have a say in who she was to marry, all important decisions were made by the fathers. This is common practice in this community, where Huda …show more content…

All acts of abuse are acknowledged as the women or victims fault. This is shown by the quote from Huda’s father, “it’s all your fault. You don’t know how to take care of your husband.” This reaction from family discourages victims to be able to seek help from their husbands.

This is a problem that occurs in our world, more specifically in the Muslim religion and is not commonly accepted or acknowledged because of the lack of awareness from other societies. The lack of focused reporting and recordings of honour killings internationally means very little is known about the extent of this problem. An honour killing is the murder of somebody by other members, due to the belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonour to the family, or has violated the rules and beliefs of a community or religion.

Family honour is extremely important in most communities in the Muslim world. “Then the one who kills you will be free and you will be buried somewhere in a secret grave. The family honor will be