Before anyone goes off half-cocked denouncing Pakistani culture about the “honor killing” of Qandeel Baloch in that country, it isn’t even certain that it was an honor killing but rather her brother’s alibi for a grubby drug-related homicide.
An understanding of honor killings needs to be wrested back from the realm of hating on Muslims & war mongering & considered in the context of the global problem of homicidal misogyny & violence against women.
They don’t have reliable, specific estimates of those murdered in honor killings because like most crimes against women thousands go unreported or the perpetrators unpunished because of juridical sanctions.
What is known is that honor killing is an international phenomenon practiced on every continent & not just in Middle Eastern & Asian countries. They also know that honor killings include all cultures & religions & are not specific to Muslim societies as media portrays it.
“Honor killings” is a loaded term in the context of Islamophobia. They are akin to what are more delicately termed “crimes of passion” in western societies. But the not so subtle intention of both terms is to suggest that the murder of women is in some way excusable or understandable.
As violence against women in every malignant form increases around the world, we must link the struggle against it to the struggles against war & occupation & not let our movement be hijacked by the war mongers.