Barbarians in Our Midst

Farzana Hassan has had it with namby-pamby, mealy-mouthed equivocations re honour crimes. Brazenly, she writes that we must--must!--have the courage, the chutzpah, to call these murders what they are--barbaric, horrific, disgusting--and not downplay them via squishy euphemisms:

There are several reasons for such deliberate misuse of words and the resultant obfuscation of facts on honour killings. Some individuals fear Islamist groups and avoid terminology linking this phenomenon to fundamentalist Islam. The left-leaning multiculturalists also believe in showing deference to each subculture within Canada, despite the rampant abuse of women within these communities. They hence reject certain words deemed culturally charged.

Furthermore, these liberals promote the view that such murders occur in all religious and ethnic communities. In an effort to appear open-minded and accepting of diversity in Canada, they also unwittingly condone various misogynistic practices within these communities.

But it is now time to call a spade a spade. The murders of the Shafia sisters, Aqsa Parvez and other victims of Islamist fury are honour killings - not customary killings or domestic violence - if the latest accused are found guilty. It is imperative to use accurate terminology to describe the crime and the pathology that drives it. The linkage between honour as a sociological construct and the crime is unmistakable.

The idea of honour is rooted in the medieval notion that men own women, that they are responsible for the conduct of these women.

Ultraorthodox Islam most certainly encourages this view, as it places much emphasis on the segregation and veiling of women. Furthermore, it assigns men the task of enforcing this segregation, even through punitive measures if necessary.

Spare the rod and spoil the wife/daughter?