Rethinking the term 'honor killing'
The murder of 28-year-old Samia Shahid comes less than two weeks after Qandeel Baloch was killed by her brother. The media was quick to report them as "honor killings." We have to rethink that term, writes Gouri Sharma.
When news broke that Samia Shahid, a British-Pakistani woman, had been found dead while visiting relatives in Pakistan at the end of July, mainstream media outlets were quick to report it as an honor killing. It was the second time in two weeks that the media had reported a killing of a woman this way - the first being the murder of Pakistani social media star Qandeel Baloch. There are strong similarities between the cases. Both were murdered in places where they would have felt they were at their safest - in their family homes. It's likely they knew their killers - in Baloch's case, her brother has admitted to strangling her, and Shahid's father and cousin have already been questioned. And as more reports emerge about Shahid's death, it's clear that both were killed because they didn't behave in a way deemed acceptable in a conservative, patriarchal society. 'Deeply offensive' term The debate around terminology in "honor killings" isn't new, and after Baloch's murder there were members of the media - such as ABC Australia journalist Juanita Phillips - who decided against using the term, calling it "deeply offensive" and referring to it as a "family killing" instead. And there are outlets, like the Guardian, that already use inverted commas with the word honor. But some commentators argue that more needs to happen if media consumers are to gain a better understanding of the problem. "I think an important step for the media would be to refuse to give weight to the term 'honor crimes,'" said UK-based freelance journalist Shehnaz Khan. "While it is imperative to highlight that these crimes and murders stem from the roots of misogyny and therefore a false sense of 'honor,' there is absolutely nothing but 'shame' within them, as murder is nothing but dishonorable." "The word 'honor' can sometimes carry an almost positive connotation that we are inclined to automatically accept just because it's not happening to us, when the reality is, this a huge problem affecting thousands of girls and women across the world," she added. Naming the issue But this isn't a view shared by all journalists. Ruby Hamad, a writer at Australia's Daily Life newspaper, said that the first step in dealing with the issue is naming it. "There are some deeply patriarchal societies that still limit women's freedom according to old tribal concepts of honor, where, unfairly, the behavior of women reflect on their entire family," Hamad said. "By naming these 'honor killings,' we are acknowledging the role that this misogynistic concept of honor plays, not only in the murders themselves but in these entire societies, and how it entraps both men and women." Through the eyes of the perpetrator? There are other issues with the term though. Some have argued that by framing it as such, media outlets are showing the crime through the eyes of the perpetrator - and not through the victim - as they should. And with such cases regularly hitting the headlines, framing is important. The United Nations estimates that around 5,000 women - predominantly from Asia and the Middle East - are killed annually in honor-related crimes, a figure that women's advocacy groups say is closer to 20,000 worldwide. This raises an important cultural element for the media to consider - how far does the term play into cultural stereotypes? "When honor is considered the most important thing in life, then all family members become expendable," Hamad said. "The collective outweighs the rights of the individual. Does this feed into cultural stereotypes? Perhaps. But that doesn't mean we should pretend that this cultural context isn't there." Looking for answers - and alternatives There have been many alternatives put forward by women's advocacy groups, including hate crime, misogynistic murder, femicide and shame killings. But which one should we pick? Al Jazeera for one has decided which one they won't use. "We are always updating our style guidelines to convey a deeper and more authentic understanding of world affairs. Recent events in Pakistan ignited a healthy debate in Al Jazeera on the term 'honor killings' in particular. Our editors are currently studying alternatives to the term, but 'misogynistic murder' is not one of them," said an Al Jazeera spokesperson. Terminology in the media matters, and for murders as complex as these, it's the media's responsibility to find a name that better fits the crime. Only then will it become easier to work towards a solution.
Samia Shahid
Death_of_Samia_Shahid
Qandeel Baloch
Qandeel_Baloch
Gouri Sharma
Samia Shahid
Death_of_Samia_Shahid
British
Pakistani
Pakistan
Pakistan Pakistan_national_cricket_team Pakistan_women's_national_cricket_team Pakistan_national_football_team A1_Team_Pakistan Dominion_of_Pakistan Pakistan_men's_national_squash_team Pakistan_men's_national_field_hockey_team Pakistan_national_under-19_cricket_team Pakistan_Football_Federation Pakistan_Navy Pakistan_Army Pakistani_cuisine Government_of_Pakistan Pakistan_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction Pakistan_Fed_Cup_team
July
Pakistani
social media star
Qandeel Baloch
Qandeel_Baloch
Baloch
Baloch_people Balochi_language Balochistan Baloch_tribe Baluch_(Uttar_Pradesh) Balouch,_Azad_Kashmir Baloch_Regiment Baloch_of_Punjab Baloch_people_in_the_United_Arab_Emirates Baloch_of_Iran List_of_Baloch_tribes Baloch Baloch_F.C. Baloch_nationalism
Shahid
Shahid Shahid_(film) Shahid_(actor) Shahid_(name) Syed_Shahid Shahid,_Markazi Shahid,_Fars Shahid,_Isfahan Shahid_(service) Ismail_Shahid
Shahid
Shahid Shahid_(film) Shahid_(actor) Shahid_(name) Syed_Shahid Shahid,_Markazi Shahid,_Fars Shahid,_Isfahan Shahid_(service) Ismail_Shahid
Baloch
Baloch_people Balochi_language Balochistan Baloch_tribe Baluch_(Uttar_Pradesh) Balouch,_Azad_Kashmir Baloch_Regiment Baloch_of_Punjab Baloch_people_in_the_United_Arab_Emirates Baloch_of_Iran List_of_Baloch_tribes Baloch Baloch_F.C. Baloch_nationalism
ABC Australia
Australian_Broadcasting_Corporation ABC_Australia_(Asia-Pacific_Television) ABC_(Australian_TV_channel) Australian_Broadcasting_Company
journalist
Juanita Phillips
Juanita_Phillips
Guardian
The_Guardian Legal_guardian Guardian_(DC_Comics) TheGuardian.com Guardian_(band) Custos_(Franciscans) Guardian_(Bahá'í_Faith) GuardiaN Guardian_(Marvel_Comics) Guardian_(song) The_Guardian_(Nigeria) Guardians_of_the_Universe Guardian_(web_series) Guardian_temperament Guardian_(fireboat) Trinidad_and_Tobago_Guardian
UK
United_Kingdom UK_Singles_Chart UK_Albums_Chart British_Phonographic_Industry Official_Charts_Company U.K._(band) ISU_Junior_Grand_Prix_in_the_United_Kingdom .uk United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland British_Overseas_Territories List_of_British_films_of_1967 UK_Video_Charts List_of_British_films_of_1999 List_of_British_films_of_1960 List_of_British_films_of_2003 List_of_British_films_of_1968
freelance journalist
Shehnaz Khan
Ruby Hamad
Ruby_Hamad
Australia
Australia Australia_national_cricket_team Australia_national_rugby_union_team Australia_national_rugby_league_team Australia_national_soccer_team Rugby_Australia Australia_women's_national_cricket_team Australia_women's_national_soccer_team Australia_(2008_film) ARIA_Charts Australia_international_rules_football_team Football_Federation_Australia A1_Team_Australia Australia_Davis_Cup_team Australian_Recording_Industry_Association Kent_Music_Report
Daily Life
Everyday_life Fairfax_Media Personal_life The_Age
Hamad
Hamad_bin_Isa_Al_Khalifa Syrian_Desert Hamad_(name) Hamad_bin_Thuwaini_of_Zanzibar Hamad_Port Hamad,_Mahshahr Hamad_bin_Abdullah_Al_Thani Hamad_bin_Khalifa_Al_Thani Seif_Sharif_Hamad
United Nations
United_Nations United_Nations_Command Headquarters_of_the_United_Nations United_Nations_(band) United_States_Ambassador_to_the_United_Nations United_Nations_System United_Nations_Office_at_Geneva United_Nations_General_Assembly United_Nations_(gang) United_Nations_Office_at_Vienna Allies_of_World_War_II United_Nations_(Rui_En_album) United_Nations_peacekeeping Declaration_by_United_Nations United_Nations_(United_Nations_album) United_Nations_Stakes
Asia
Asia Asian_Football_Confederation Asia_(band) Asia_(Roman_province) AFC_Champions_League United_Nations_geoscheme_for_Asia Asian_Cricket_Council Asian_Athletics_Association Asia_(Asia_album) Languages_of_Asia Asia_Rugby Anatolia Asia_(mythology) .asia Asian_Squash_Federation Kawaguchi,_Saitama
Middle East
Middle_East Mediterranean_and_Middle_East_theatre_of_World_War_II Middle_Eastern_theatre_of_World_War_I Middle_East_Command Middle_Eastern_cuisine The_Middle_East_(nightclub) History_of_the_Middle_East Boomerang_(Middle_East_and_Africa) Western_Asia RAF_Middle_East_Command Middle_East,_Baltimore Ancient_Near_East Arab_Colombians Syria–Lebanon_Campaign Bangladeshis_in_the_Middle_East Middle_Eastern_studies
Hamad
Hamad_bin_Isa_Al_Khalifa Syrian_Desert Hamad_(name) Hamad_bin_Thuwaini_of_Zanzibar Hamad_Port Hamad,_Mahshahr Hamad_bin_Abdullah_Al_Thani Hamad_bin_Khalifa_Al_Thani Seif_Sharif_Hamad
Al Jazeera
Al_Jazeera Al-Jazeera_Club_(Jordan) Al_Jazeera_English Al-Jazeera_SC_(Syria) Al_Jazeera_SC Al_Jazeera_Media_Network Aljazeera_SC Upper_Mesopotamia Al-Jazira_Province Al_Jazeera_America BeIN_Sports_(Middle_East_TV_network) Aljazeera_Publishing
Pakistan
Pakistan Pakistan_national_cricket_team Pakistan_women's_national_cricket_team Pakistan_national_football_team A1_Team_Pakistan Dominion_of_Pakistan Pakistan_men's_national_squash_team Pakistan_men's_national_field_hockey_team Pakistan_national_under-19_cricket_team Pakistan_Football_Federation Pakistan_Navy Pakistan_Army Pakistani_cuisine Government_of_Pakistan Pakistan_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction Pakistan_Fed_Cup_team
Al Jazeera
Al_Jazeera Al-Jazeera_Club_(Jordan) Al_Jazeera_English Al-Jazeera_SC_(Syria) Al_Jazeera_SC Al_Jazeera_Media_Network Aljazeera_SC Upper_Mesopotamia Al-Jazira_Province Al_Jazeera_America BeIN_Sports_(Middle_East_TV_network) Aljazeera_Publishing
Al Jazeera
Al_Jazeera Al-Jazeera_Club_(Jordan) Al_Jazeera_English Al-Jazeera_SC_(Syria) Al_Jazeera_SC Al_Jazeera_Media_Network Aljazeera_SC Upper_Mesopotamia Al-Jazira_Province Al_Jazeera_America BeIN_Sports_(Middle_East_TV_network) Aljazeera_Publishing
Samia Shahid
gender::female iptc::02000000 slot::keyword topic::justice type::entity type::person type::victim
Qandeel Baloch
Qandeel_Baloch
gender::female iptc::02000000 slot::keyword topic::justice type::entity type::person type::victim
Pakistan
Pakistan
slot::in slot::keyword topic::none type::entity type::gpe type::gpe0 type::location
Ruby Hamad
Ruby_Hamad
gender::female topic::media type::entity type::journalist type::person
Gouri Sharma
gender::female topic::media type::entity type::journalist type::person
British
topic::none type::gpe0-x type::other
Pakistani
topic::none type::gpe0-x type::other
July
topic::none type::time type::value
social media star
topic::none type::role type::value
ABC Australia
ABC_Australia_(Southeast_Asian_TV_channel)
topic::media type::entity type::media type::organization
journalist
topic::none type::role type::value
Juanita Phillips
Juanita_Phillips
gender::female topic::media type::entity type::journalist type::person
Guardian
The_Guardian
topic::media type::entity type::media type::organization
UK
United_Kingdom
topic::none type::entity type::gpe type::gpe0 type::location
freelance journalist
topic::none type::role type::value
Shehnaz Khan
gender::female topic::media type::entity type::journalist type::person
Australia
Australia
topic::none type::entity type::gpe type::gpe0 type::location
Daily Life
topic::media type::entity type::media type::organization
United Nations
United_Nations
iptc::11000000 topic::politics type::entity type::igo type::organization
Asia
Asia
topic::none type::entity type::location type::regio
Middle East
Middle_East
topic::none type::entity type::location type::regio
Al Jazeera
Al_Jazeera
topic::media type::entity type::media type::organization