Easy Answers

So-called "honor killings" are, let's agree, an outrageous practice. Emily Yoffe is, therefore, rightly disturbed by western feminists ignoring the issue:

I went to the National Organization for Women Web site, and I would be thrilled if someone could find the place in it in which NOW denounces forced covering and "honor" killing.When the Washington Post's fashion writer wrote about Hillary Clinton's cleavage, NOW was outraged. Their section on violence against women seems to cover every possible permutation except that of Islamic extremism.

Except Sam Boyd finds it here, under the Violence Against Women category which, given the intrinsically violent nature of killing, would seem to be where it belongs. Remember when there was legislation in congress to denounce honor killings? Well, to be honest, I don't, but the NOW website does: "NOW Supports Legislation that Denounces 'Honor' Killings and Violence Against Women".

Sam also notes that one can use Google to find NOW's various mentions of this practice and see descriptions of their work to bring it to an end.

Comments

This is a very typical example of a sad and pathetic form of journalism that's all too common, where the reasoning goes something like this, "I woke up this morning and didn't recall [Feminist group X] having denounced [bad practice Y], so they must not have done so. No research on my part as to whether this claim is at all true needs to be done before I write my article." Those practicing this form of "reporting" should be subjected to shame and ridicule.

Posted by Matt (not the famous one) | December 17, 2007 1:33 PM

One can only presume that she is, in fact, now thrilled.

I wonder if there will now be one less person spouting the "liberals don't mind Islamic violence" trope.

Posted by Brad L | December 17, 2007 1:36 PM

I would also like to point out that it's not out of line for an organization called the "National" anything to focus primarily on things that are a big deal in this nation. That's not to say that they shouldn't be concerned with honor killings or anything, but there's a bit of the "why don't you blog about my concerns?" mentality that Atrios occasionally talks about here.

Posted by Aaron S. Veenstra | December 17, 2007 1:37 PM

If a woman is killed in a domestic context (over adultery and so on) in an Islamic society, it's an "honor killing". If the same thing occurs elsewhere -- an angry husband kills his wife over some perceived disgrace -- it's run of the mill domestic violence. Keep in mind that the overwhelming majority of the so-called honor killings are exactly this, and nothing more. Not to lessen the horror of this phenomenon; but let's treat it as global and not Islamic.

Posted by xaphoo | December 17, 2007 1:38 PM

Worth remembering that Katha Pollit was writing about the treatment of women by the Taliban years before most of the feminists-don't-care-about-muslim-women crowd had even heard of it.

Posted by lemuel pitkin | December 17, 2007 1:45 PM

what Aaron S. Veenstra said above.

NOW has consistently supported domestic legislation that addresses honor killings in the u.s. it doesn't deal that much with honor killings abroad because of that N.

you might as well be asking why the AMA isn't fighting universal healthcare in france.

Posted by upyernoz | December 17, 2007 1:53 PM

I was routinely getting emails about the horrors of the Taliban against women from one org or another, right up until 9/11. I remember thinking, "well, I guess now we'll pay attention to the Taliban."

After that, nothing, because there was nothing more to ask for - we were already fighting them.

NOW is an organization, not a newspaper, and orgs are always asking for stuff when they point out the horrors of something - either pass a law, or give us money so we can file a lawsuit, or call for the denouncing or embargoing of this horrible other country. We are already at war or gearing up to be at war with these horrible other countries, or their Muslim allies. What more could you ask for?

I'm still horrified by this stuff, particularly the hanging of the gay teens in Iran, but what are we going to do about it? This is not a rhetorical question, as if to say "it's hopeless". I think something should be done and I'm not sure what.

Posted by Phoebe | December 17, 2007 2:10 PM

I was routinely getting emails about the horrors of the Taliban against women from one org or another, right up until 9/11. I remember thinking, "well, I guess now we'll pay attention to the Taliban."

Me too... I remember signing petitions calling for action against them while the press was busy hyperventilating over that damned blue dress. Feminists discovered this stuff long before either the press or the right did, and it's long past time to smack down anyone who pretends that wasn't the case.

Posted by latts | December 17, 2007 3:26 PM

All "honor" killings, because they are by definition intrafamilial, are a form of domestic violence, but the converse simply isn't true.

And, with all due respect, Xaphoo, there are some very real differences between "honor" killings and crimes of passion. It seems you are confusing the two. Crimes of passion have occurred over time and across cultures, but "honor" killings are believed to have their origins in misinterpretations of pre-Islamic Arab tribal codes. In some countries (e.g., Jordan), they are almost state sanctioned through laws so perpetrator friendly that the average sentence is six months. "Honor" killers often return to their communities and families as heroes. "Honor" killings have different triggers. There are other differences, and these need to be acknowledged if these crimes are ever to be properly addressed.

Ellen R. Sheeley, Author
"Reclaiming Honor in Jordan"

Posted by ERS | December 17, 2007 3:47 PM

I believe that the failure of some liberals in this country to speak out against honor killings has to do with a strange penchant for admiring any religion that happens not to be Christian- for some odd reason, they seem to have a particular fondness for violently patriarchal creeds like Islam and Mormonism. Believing in the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Mother of God is sexist, I suppose, while whipping a girl to death for being caught in a car with a man is not.

I'm sure that some Islamist leaders in the Middle East are saying the same thing that Lenin said: "The West will sell us the very rope with which we will hang them."

Posted by Hector | December 17, 2007 4:32 PM

I believe that the failure of some liberals to speak out...

is a failure that exists only in your mind. This was, in fact, the very point of the post.

However, I did find it entertaining how you could pontificate at length regarding something that didn't happen.

Posted by Tyro | December 17, 2007 5:27 PM

I believe that the failure of some liberals in this country to speak out against honor killings has to do with a strange penchant for admiring any religion that happens not to be Christian...

Similarly, I think the failure of some conservatives to criticize China's "one child" policy is due to the fact that conservatives have an odd desire to boil and eat babies. I'll not let the fact that no conservative has actually articulated this reason dissuade me from this notion. There can hardly be any other explanation.

Posted by Brad L | December 17, 2007 5:46 PM

I'm sure that some Islamist leaders in the Middle East are saying the same thing that Lenin said

Yeah! How'd that work out for Lenin, btw?

Posted by Brad L | December 17, 2007 5:48 PM

Hector = troll.

Do not feed the trolls.

Posted by Richard Steven Hack | December 17, 2007 8:57 PM

1. I'm not a conservative.

2. sorry, I tend to get a little annoyed at people that critcize my religious views unreasonably. I'll try to tone it down- I know I was at fault there.

Posted by Hector | December 17, 2007 9:34 PM

Emily Yoffe is a joke. Don't forget she wrote a piece for the Washington Post attacking Al Gore on global warming only a few months after writing a piece about how she performed math at a first grade level.

Posted by Exile on Ericsson St. | December 18, 2007 12:41 AM

Quick copy editing tip:

Either use so-called or quotation marks, never both.

The so-called Happy Trio killed seven today.

The "Happy Trio," who derive their name from the popular Palm Inc. Treo cellphone, spoke for hours without recharging their phones.

Posted by Seth Davis | December 19, 2007 2:46 PM