Attachments: Crimes of Honor – UN
General Assembly Resolution 2004.pdf
Political Rights
Child
in English. The UN Crimes of Honor Resolution is posted on the WUNRN website in
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55-page Study on Honor Crimes in Yemen.
file upon request to WUNRN at mosie@infionline.net.
Honor Crimes in Yemen
A Legal & Social Analysis on
Violence
Against Yemeni Women Pertaining to
Honor
The study prepared by Sisters Arab
Forum for Human Rights (SAF) in
partnership with the Swiss SURGIR Foundation
`
Sana’a – Yemen
May 2005
Introduction
During the past 14 years, the interest in women human
rights in Yemen has increased. The interest became clear at the legislation
level through the amendment of several laws that go in harmony with the human
rights principles acknowledged in international legislations for human rights
and international agreements and treaties related to women human rights. Also,
at the political level, a national strategy for gender has been prepared.
Efforts were exerted from both sides of governmental bodies and NGOs to include
gender issues in the public development and sectoral strategies and plans. At
the institutional level, the National Committee for Woman and the Higher Council
for Woman’s Affairs were established, and the Yemeni Women Union was
reactivated, as well as to the noticeable growth seen in several civil society
organizations in the field of women human rights and the variety of its
activities, and establishment of several network
ks
to develop woman status and ensure her protection. At the programs and
activities’ level, some programs and projects related to woman issues and
development were designed and implemented.
Regardless of the extent of completeness and success of
these efforts, research activities related to women human rights in general and
those related to violence against women in specific motivated implementing a
number of studies and researches related to social structure and cultural
directives effects of violence spread against women, violence forms, causes, and affects. Studies about types
of violence that women are exposed to such as political, economic, and family
violence …etc. were implemented as well. Another study was conducted on abused
women such as prisoners, refugees, and early married girls. Other studies were implemented about the
forms of violence against women such as disinheritance, deprivation of
education, circumcision, and early marriages…etc.
However, violence against women due to what is called
honor crimes didn’t receive interest from governmental and non-governmental
institutions concerned with women human rights and no studies or researches were
conducted till now. Therefore, Sisters Arab Forum for Human Rights (SAF) decided
to implement a pilot study on honor crimes, for 2005 plan. SAF in partnership
with the Swiss SURGIR Foundation, implemented the study during the first six
months of 2005. Following are the important findings of this study.
Objectives of the
Research
The disinterest in honor crimes in Yemen is due to the
sensitivity of the subject matter and its connection to a set of social values.
Thus, SAF emphasized that this project, to study honor crimes in Yemen,
represents part of its concern in human rights, which aims at protecting the
human dignity and development. SAF concern shouldn’t be interpreted as a call
for allowing depravity or disrupting the Islamic Sharia laws, however, it should be
interpreted as a call for implementing the proper Islamic laws, ensuring
individual and public moral protection, and defending human rights. This is
because most of honor crimes or women murders that occur to defend their honor
and dignity truly are based on suspicions, doubts, and rumors, while Islamic
laws determine certain conditions to prove adultery and commissions judicial
institutions to give its rule and the official bodies to implement the
law.
With regard to this, knowing how far the phenomenon of
honor crimes is spread, its social and economic conditions, the cultural
directives that help in committing it, and its effects on individuals and
families represent the main objective of this study, which will be achieved
through the following:
·
Identifying methods that honor crimes
are committed.
·
Identifying social, economic, and
cultural factors behind honor crimes.
·
Determining methods and procedures of
judicial institutions when dealing with honor crimes perpetrators.
·
Determining the factors and
conditions that forces relatives to rush into committing crimes against women
who are accused or suspected of adultery, and other factors that force others to
be patient and discuss.
·
Determining the most family member
who commit such crimes (father, brother, husband …etc.)
·
Finding out the public attitude regarding
honor crimes, which helps in designing awareness programs that would limit this
phenomenon.
Methodology of
Research
Due to the sensitivity of this subject, implementing an
extensive study could cause negative reactions and responses. Therefore, we
deemed that the study should take the form of a research, in which it would be
an introduction to more comprehensive, extensive studies, and it would just be
limited to the city of Sana’a.
These kinds of studies not only seek to compile
quantitative data about the phenomenon, but also qualitative data from
institutions and individuals or stakeholders concerned with the subject matter.
The most important procedures implemented are represented as follows:
·
Implementing in-depth interviews with
some officials from security bodies and police officers.
·
Implementing in-depth interviews with
some judges, lawyers, and prosecutors.
·
Frequently visiting hospitals to
compile information and data through having uncensored interviews with honor
crimes victims and individuals related to them available in hospital if
researchers were able to get any.
Tools of Compiling
Data
Semi-structural interviews were used in
compiling data. The data collected were analyzed based on a qualitative
analysis. Some quantitative analyses were conducted whenever needed.
Scope of the
Research
Taking into consideration the opinion Exposure method
that the research built on, and its objectives, this research will not require a
traditional and common field study. Also, it will not require an extensive field
research in different areas and provinces. However, it will conduct interviews
that are more likely to be consultative rather than normal interviews.
Therefore, the research was limited to the city of Sana’a, and 78 interviews
were conducted for three categories of individuals that work in fields and
institutions that deal with honor crimes victims. They include : medical
institutions, police officers, inspectors, judges, lawyers, and prosecutors. The
interviews were conducted in six governmental and private hospitals, 12 police
stations, three security directorates, and three courts and eight attorney
offices, and some were conducted outside governmental and non-governmental
organizations as mentioned above with the three sectors representing the
research sample.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Conclusion: Results and
Recommendations
Since this research is a pilot study, the research team
considered that the workshop and Discussion Panel which took place on 26 May
2006 in Sana’a, is a collateral part of the research, so we have integrated all
comments and opinions and thoughts upraised during the discussion panel. With
highlight on that, we can summarize the research results into the
following:
·
Honor killing crimes are family
crimes. However there are some very few cases when individuals experience
violence by police officers or by neighbors, or streets passers, these violence
cases and incidents remain very few, limited to insult, beat or robbery. Mostly,
non or very rare cases exceed the killing or hazardous injuries for men.
Therefore, we can differ between honor killing cases which is always perpetrated
within the family-hold, have kinship relation between victims and perpetrators
and those cases based on ethical honor values within the family – holds,
community and the state.
·
Honor Crime is obviously a gender
issue. Most of honor crime victims are women and most of honor crime
perpetrators are men. Yet, there are very few cases where both the victim and
the perpetrator are women, and fewer cases where both the victim and the
perpetrator are men, and in such cases, the perpetrator are relatives of a woman
whom discovered or suspect that she has sexual relation with the victim.
·
Honor Crime is a cultural tribal
based crime. The research revealed that honor crimes are driven by cultural and
tribal values which are patriarchal and masculine. Within these social norms,
men sexual practice and behavior outside the marriage is tolerated by the
society and family but it is so much controlling women’s sexuality and
constraining women movement. Women who are found practicing sex outside the
marriage institution get killed by male relatives because this deed brings
mortification to her family and tribe, meanwhile practicing sex by men does not
harm the morality of the family or the tribe.
·
Some girls are victims of honor
crimes not because they practice deeds in conflict with laws or Sharia‘ but because they refuse yielding
their families’ marriage decision, or because they insist getting married to a
self chosen husband, and some times they are victims because of un contractual
marriage.
·
The research revealed that most of
honor crimes against women coerced by doubts on women victims’ sexual behavior
more than any other reasons.
·
Some of the honor crime reasons are
the fragile knowledge on sexuality and reproduction that young newly married men
have. It has been discovered that some young newly married women get physical
attack by their husbands who have doubts on their virginity.
·
The research disclosed that honor
crime prevail among different social segments of people but only those cases
happen among poor, marginalized and urban segment get reported on.
·
The results of individual interviews
with women revealed that, there is a contradictorily relationship between level
of education in the family and the level of bearing violence against women
inside the same family. Educated relatives tend to be patient and deny rumors
and doubts; in addition they are not hurry in making violent decisions, they
have more knowledge on tolerant Sharia. Also, they are more democratic
and understanding of women’s marriage’s choices.
·
Women survivals of honor crimes,
usually, alibi the perpetrator, they don’t explicit their injures, they pretend
that these injuries happen by incidence, or they get attack by non – adults or
these injuries come out of committing suicide failure attempts.
Recommendations:
·
Although the clear discrimination in
article 232 of the Crime and Penalty Law, included in its content regarding
reducing the punishment of close male relatives and husbands, who murder women
when are caught in the very act of adultery, although discrimination exists in
the law, this subject wasn’t mentioned by health personnel during the
interviews, nor did the police officers give it any genuine interest. As for
judges and lawyers, they believe, although that the article abides by the social
status and traditional directives that it doesn’t call for murdering of women in
relation to honor crimes. Many who committed crimes didn’t know the context of
the article before committing it. Therefore, many of those whom we interviewed
believe that to limit the spread of honor crimes this doesn’t, only, require
legal changes or amendments, but it requires society awareness regarding women
human rights. Seconding to this, all human rights activists, journalists,
politicians and public leaders, who attended the Workshop agreed on the
importance of awareness raising and education on honor crime to eliminate such a
phenomenon, also, they emphasis on legal amendments, however, the police
officers and prosecutors reflected an ambiguous concern on the discriminatory
aspects implied in Article No. 232 of the Crime and Punishment Law. Yet, some of
them asked for amending the article for its illogic ad actuality. “It is
impossible to prove such a crime”, they believed.
·
Discussions were held during the
Workshop revealed that some aspects in related to honor crime still ambiguous.
Though, this is an expectable matter, since the research team was not planning
to discover all related issues to honor crime, but to prove that honor killing
crimes are prevailing, who the perpetrators are, where they prevail, among which
social segments, and which suitable research methods had to be used for more
credible and correct analysis and results. Secondly, we intended to draw
attention to the big amount of harm and danger that such crimes cause, highlight
the discussion on, mobilize the public opinion around and find out ways of
remedies. We think that the research has succeed in achieving all of
that.
·
According to interviews results and
discussion output during the Workshop, it has been discovered that eliminating
honor crime needs to work at four levels: conceptual, legal, institutional and
cultural levels. And we can advise on the most important procedures that could
be implemented at each level:
Legal level:
·
To conduct an advocacy campaign among
civil society organizations, the Parliament and the governmental institutions to
amend the Crimes and Punishment Law No 20 of 1994, and Personal/ Status Law No
20 of 1992 and its updated amendments of 1998 and 1999. We suggest that the
following articles to change:
–
Article No 232 of Crimes and Punishment Law No 20 of 1994, which amnesty
the male perpetrator from “killing punishment” if he kills his wife, sister or
first degree female relative if he, surprisingly, catches her practicing sex
with any one but her husband.
–
Articles 267, 270 and 271 of
Crimes and Punishment Law, which accuse adultery cases without availability of
legal/Sharia evidences.
–
Article No 40 of Personal/Family Law related to wife’s duties towards her
husband.
–
Article No 141 of Personal/Family Law, which omit women’s right to
custody.
·
To coordinate with civil society
organizations active in the field of women’s rights to build an affective
mechanism capable of providing honor crime survivals with legal aid.
Institutional Level:
·
To coordinate with Ministry of Public
Health and Ministry of Interior to oblige people issue burial permission,
especially in the rural areas and for dead women.
·
To coordinate with Ministry of
Interior and Ministry of Human Rights in building a monitoring mechanism on
women’s detentions and prisons, ensuring civil society organizations’
participation in such monitoring mechanisms to closely monitor legality of
detaining and prisoning, and integrating accountability mechanism for those
police officer who commit violations of the law.
·
To coordinate with Ministry of
Tourism, and Environment, Ministry of Interior and the Local Councils in
governorates and cities to have control over police officers who extort garden’s
men and women visitors taking advantage of “khelwa” legislation that allow the
police officer arresting those visitors even without formal commissioning.
Conceptual Level:
·
To conduct a widen empirical research
in all Yemeni governorates that enabling us getting more accurate data and
information on the range of honor crime crimes prevail. We suggest that separate
concentrated interviews hold with honor crime survivals, with accusers. This
kind of research would clarify so many areas and aspects the current research
could not.
Cultural Level:
·
Parallel to this point of view, some
of the people we conducted interviews with adopted an implicit point of view
that could be summarized which represents a call to cancel article 232 from the
Crime and Penalty Law and increase the punishment it included. The call of
canceling this article is impractical. Some people think it is hard for a man to
prove that his wife is committing adultery. To prove adultery, he should have
four witnesses that say they saw the male organ of the adulterer in the female
organ of the adulteress. This is very hard if not impossible; therefore,
scholars who forbid seclusion adopt this article and many scholars deem that
there is no legal evidence to forbid it. Regardless of this juristic dispute
there are some who believe the necessity of harsher penalties.
·
Important awareness and educational
programs could contribute to limiting the spread of honor crimes, in the
following:
·
Increasing awareness on women human
rights from an Islamic point of view and from the human rights prospective in
general.
·
Increasing the awareness of fathers
and other male relatives that girls have the right to choose their husbands.
·
Spreading the proper sexual education
between the youth especially those related to virginity.
·
Increasing the awareness of girls in
high school and university regarding the risks and damages of common marriage.
·
Increasing awareness of girls and
enhancing their negotiation capabilities to convince their families to accept
their participation in taking decisions when it related to marriage.
·
Implementing educational programs to
create trust between members of the family.
These procedures and programs represent short-term
solutions. As for the long-term, limiting the spread of honor crimes depends on
combating human poverty struggle, the extent of promoting the social planning
programs success in transforming social relationships and structures, and the
extent of promotion the human rights culture.
Reference list
1. United
Nations, United Nations World Declaration to combat violence against Women.
2.
Sisters Arab Forum for Human Rights. “The First Shadow Report” of Yemeni
NGOs on the Level of Implementing the convention on Eliminating All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, Sana’a. (Second Edition), November
2004.
3. Najeeb
Ali Saif Jamil, “Woman and Crime: from the Social Law Prospective”, Woman’s
Forum for Training and Studies. First Edition, 2004.
4.
Mohammed Sayed Saeed. “Introduction to Understanding Human Rights
Organization”. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies. A series of human
rights directives (3), Cairo. Second issue 1997.
5. The
Central Statistics Organization, the Annual Statistics Book for years 98, 99,
2002, 2003.
[1]
The concept of power here doesn’t mean physical strength but social
power.
[2]
.
[3]
1 These two
definitions were found in the United Nations World Declaration to combat
Violence against Woman. Adopted by
the United Nations General Assembly in its general session no. 85 dated December
20, 1993.
[4]
2 1bid.
[5]
The introduction of the United Nations World Declaration in issues
related to violence against women.
[6]
Sisters Arab Forum. The “First Shadow” Report of Yemeni NGOs on the
implementation of CEDAW, Sana’a. (Second Edition, November 2004.
p9)
[7]
Najeeb Ali Saif Jamil, “Woman and Crime from the Social Law Prospective”,
Woman’s Forum for training and studies. First Edition, 2004. Page
128.
Omar’s legal opinion was mentioned in Al Mughni Bin Qudama’s book and
Ali’s legal opinion was mentioned in Al Sunah Al Kubra book for Al Buhaiki. We
cited these two stories from the above mentioned
references
[8]
Mohammed Sayed Saeed. Introduction to Understanding Human Rights System.
Cairo for human rights studies. A series of human rights directives (3), Cairo.
Second Edition 1997. page 42.
1
Central Statistics Organization, the Annual Statistics Book for years 98,
99, 2002, 2003
[9]
3000 Yemeni Riyals = $
15
[10]
Look
at table no. (4).
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