"Honor Killing in America" is the name of a TV special that is going to address a new phenomenon in the western world - honor killings. Now, in the middle east they have happened for ages. A father, husband, or brother kills his daughters, wife, or sisters because they feel that the woman disgraced the family.
Such is something that seems very foreign to the United States. Gender equality has been present for decades, and murder has never been something you would tie to the world "honor." Still yet, the times are changing and this is something that is unfortunately becoming more and more commonplace.
Amina and Sarah Said
On New Years Day 2008, a chilling 911 call was made. Sarah Said told a 9-1-1 operator that her father shot her and that she was dying in the backseat of a taxi cab. Her father, a devout Muslim riddled her body and her sister's body with bullets.
There are some accounts which claim that the girls were dating non-Muslim boys. The penalty was that the father felt as if they were a disgrace to the family and as such he murdered them in cold blood.
Noor Almaleki
Another honor killing from recent years is Noor Almaleki. She was ran over by her father's Jeep Cherokee while in the presence of another Muslim woman, who was also ran over. Her killer? Faleh Almaleki. Her own father. He didn't approve of her wearing jeans, dating non-Muslim boys, and being an all-American girl.
Her father wanted her to marry a man pre-selected for her back in Iraq. She wanted to remain in the United States, become a teacher, marry for love - and make her own decisions. The result? She was killed.
These women aren't alone; there are likely many more out there that we haven't heard about. As an All-American woman, the thought is incomprehensible, but as the landscape in the country changes and as more and more countries immigrate in to the US, there will be more and more ideologies that come in.
Still, no matter which way you slice it, "honor killings" will never make sense to someone that does not have a Muslim background. Sort of like how allowing women to make their own decisions and live their own lives will never make sense to someone that didn't grow up with that type of upbringing.
Sources:
Marie Claire; Abigail Pesta; http://www.marieclaire.com/world-reports/news/latest/honor-killings-in-america




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