When an Ethiopian man in Alexandria, Va., killed his wife, the report in last week's Alexandria Gazette Packet tiptoed nervously around his motive. It said that cultural issues were involved and that he had ordered her not to interact with co-workers.
In case the point still wasn't clear, the reporter attempted to explain:"In Ethiopia, women have more defined roles."
The deliberate ambiguity would be comic if it were not attached to a tragedy.
This is how many people twist themselves into knots while confronting the form of homicide that carries the inappropriate and grotesque label, "honour killing" -- the murder of women to satisfy the "honour" of -- and appease the rage of -- men.
We make the mistake of comparing it with wife-murder in the West, but it differs fundamentally:It's often culturally sanctioned, it claims religious vindication and it may be committed by brothers, uncles and cousins, not just husbands.
While some Muslims claim it's a vestige of pre-Islamic societies, it's now become ingrained in many corners of Islamic culture. A report from the Palestinian Human Rights Monitor notes (without explanation) that female sexuality dominates Arab morality:
"The honour of a man is not related in any way to his own behaviour, it is related primarily to the behaviour of his wife, his daughter or his sister.
A man who commits all the wrongdoings in the world is considered 'honourable' if his wife doesn't deceive him by having an affair with another man.
A man who is known as a wrongdoer is considered 'honourable' if his daughter safeguards her virginity."
Change will require an organized, strongly motivated and persistent campaign, which is nowhere in sight...
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