Honor cultures exist throughout the world but are more common among peoples from regions stretching from
North Africa via the Middle East,
Central Asia and to the
Indian subcontinent. Examples of these countries are
Afghanistan,
Albania,
Eritrea,
Iraq,
Kurdistan,
Libya,
Palestine,
Pakistan and
Somalia. Family honour is also an important part of
Latin American culture.
Middle East and Africa The aspects of family honor mentioned above differ throughout varying cultures and countries. Family honor in the
Bedouin and other Middle Eastern cultures consists of interdependent forms of ird and sharaf. Ird is the honor of a woman she is born with which involves her chastity and continence whereas sharaf is the honor code for men which depends on ird of women in the family. Due to its connection to ird, sharaf includes protecting ird of the family members. The adherence to these gender-specific honor codes is important to keep the respectability and sexual honors of the family, particularly men, known as
namus. An example of this can be seen in
Sierra Leone, Africa where young girls are mutilated every year. The number of girls mutilated in Africa per year has risen to 3 million. as well as loyalty. An ideology of preserving family honor is deeply rooted is society and is not affected by high levels of education. Many women in Turkey are well educated but still are expected to be modest and sexually chaste in order to preserve the perceived honor of their families. If a family's honor is perceived to be breached, it can bring social shame to the entire family. In such cases, traditionally the family would decide the fate of the woman accused of dishonoring her family. This might involve forcing the young woman into a
shotgun wedding, while in extreme cases a young male in the family was given the duty to cleanse the family name through an
honor killing. With recent changes to criminal law that removed reduced sentences for honor killings, women that are accused of bringing shame to the family are sometimes forced to commit honor suicides by their families, especially in the predominantly Kurdish South-East regions, a region that greatly values traditions. Members of the Republican People Party have stated that in the six months preceding Hatice Firat's death a woman had been killed every day because of
domestic violence. Asian families are usually multi-generational, patriarchal and self-sufficient structures strongly bound to traditions. For instance, in
India touching feet of relatives and elderly is a ritual to express respect and submission. However, family honor entails different components depending on the continental region. For example, family honor is strongly linked to female chastity in
Afghanistan,
Pakistan, and
India in a similar fashion to Middle Eastern and Mediterranean societies. Cultures near the Middle East also consider involuntary sexual assaults dishonorable and shameful.
East Asia Contrastingly in other Continental Asian culture, East Asian family honor depends on other factors such as success in education. Academic success of a student is seen as a source of pride and honor for traditional East Asian families. Therefore, both the East Asian student and the parents had to marshal resources and work diligently to curtail the likelihood of academic failure in order to avoid bringing
shame to the family. In mainly Muslim
Kosovo, the impact on family honor of admitting one has been raped, has discouraged some women from applying for compensation as victims of atrocities committed during the 1998–99
war with Serbia.
Denmark In Denmark, the migration authority published that 24% of immigrants of non-Western heritage and their offspring of ages 18–29 were limited in
their choice of partner by their relatives. The report showed a higher incidence for women than men and in areas with high concentrations of migrants, 59% were limited in choice of partner. Of migrant women who lived in high-concentration areas, fewer of those in education or employment were limited. Of migrant women who live in areas with a low share of migrants, 22% were limited in partner choice. It was also shown that migrant youth are more limited if their social circles only comprises other migrants when it came to choosing a partner.
Norway In 2018, an investigation into court cases involving domestic violence against children showed that 47% of the cases involved parents who were both born abroad. According to a researcher at
Norwegian Police University College the over-representation was due to cultural (honor culture) and legal differences in Norway and foreign countries.
Sweden The
Swedish National Police Board and the
Swedish Prosecution Authority define honor related crime as crimes against a relative who, according to the perpetrator and his family's point of view has dishonoured the family honor. These crimes are intended to prevent the family honor being damaged or to restore damaged or lost family honor. The most serious honor related crime is often organised and deliberate. Incidents include torture, forced suicides, forced marriages, rapes, kidnapping, assault, mortal threats,
extortion and protecting a criminal. The MUCF report is limited to people aged 16–25 and for instance excludes adult women who wish to divorce but are threatened with violence due to family honor. According to John Åberg, the exact number of people who experience honor-related oppression in Sweden is unknown. State statistics put the number around 70,000. Researcher Astrid Schlytter claims, based on research conducted on British and other European populations, that the number of people who experience honor culture (Swedish:
hedersförtryck) could be as high as 240,000.
United Kingdom In the UK, honor crimes include forced marriage and
female genital mutilation and honour based crimes disproportionally affect women from ethnic minorities. The number of honor crimes reported to police increased from 3,335 in 2014 to 5,595 in 2015, an increase of 68%, before a slight drop to 5,105 in 2016. Figures published by the
Crown Prosecution Service showed that 256 crimes were referred to the CPS by police in 2016–17, about 5% of the cases reported. Of the 256 referrals, 215 lead to prosecutions which resulted in 122 convictions.
The Old South The
Old South took honor particularly seriously. Southerners in the Old South held themselves to their own sets of social codes. An affront to a Southerner's honor, if serious enough, was resolved by a duel.
Dueling was originally a European custom, later adopted by the United States. Usually only men engaged in duels; their opponents were men they perceived to be equals. Public opinion for dueling varied: some thought it was a barbaric and backwards custom, while others believed it was a perfectly legitimate way of dealing with affronts to honor.
Hispanic countries and culture Looking at the
Hispanic community, similar to many of the countries mentioned above, elders are seen as wise and are to be shown respect from other family members. Family members turn to elders for help regularly, and when a family member falls ill wisdom on what should be done to care for the ill family member is searched for within the elders of the family. Men are the dominant figures within their households and embody a decisive, authoritative role. Contrary to popular belief, women hold as much weight within their homes as their husbands. They are the matriarchs of the family, and the family's health and stability relies on the mother. Although they need to be protected, women are cherished within their families as important figures. Hispanic families strongly display their emotions towards one another. Family members show that they care and love one another through taking care of each other. They search for reinforcement and support within their own homes more often than they would in today's society. The Hispanic culture has what is called
Curanderismo. This is a system in which families consult the help of a religious figure called a curandero who gives medical, psychological, and social advice. Families make offerings unto the curandero such as money, candle lighting, creating metal or wooden offerings (shaped in the form of the body part in need of healing), etc. Many families believe that all personal or familial issues should be kept within the home. The Hispanic culture values modesty for all individuals including males and children in addition to females who are historically expected to behave in a modest fashion. Family members that suffer from mental illnesses are reluctant to inform their family members of this information in fear that their family members will criticize them. In the aspect of childbirth, men are required to wait until after the mother has given birth and dressed in a decent manner to visit his wife and newborn child. Mothers typically accompany the new mother during birth. Much like the American culture, Hispanic women take time to rest after childbirth, but traditionally they returned to heavier labor jobs as opposed to jobs normally held by women within society.
Brazil In one country in particular
Brazil, the community attempts to divide the upper-class families who are considered honorable from the lower-class families who are seen as a threat to society in
Rio de Janeiro. The country defends family honor through the creation of different policies and laws, but this has caused great opposition. Politics has played a major in role in determining the status and meaning of what is considered to be honorable within Brazils' society.
Honor of women in Brazil In the late 1800s Viveiros de Castro noted an increase in violations of female honor within Brazil at the turn of the century. Women were expanding their roles throughout society which many believed opened doors for women to be taken advantage of and seduced. Viveiros de Castro believed that women's working in factories was a threat to society and morality. Men believed that the new change in opinion amongst women contributed to this new susceptibility. Many men believed that women believed they were freer than they actually were, and because of this the actions of women led them to lose honor because of their lack of dependency on the male gender. The new century had changed the image of how women were historically perceived and portrayed. Certain individuals, a judge by the name of Nelson Hungria (quoted in Sueann Caulfield's book) specifically, labeled a woman's reserved role as the source of her honor which was lost once she branched out into society losing this reserved quality attributed to women. Because women chose to leave the traditional role of being the homemaker they lost the characterization of being innocent and some assumed they were engaging sexual activities. Michael Herzfeld, an
anthropologist, argued that the idea of women losing their
chastity derived from those who wished to explain a woman's new role within society. The idea of women expanding their roles outside of the home in society went against the ideas and morals that were upheld centuries before. In order to defend this morality, many highlighted the customs of the past as something that should have been continuously practiced and enforced even in a new modern era. Many women were subjected to sexual trials in which they were criticized for being dishonorable. Women during this time were similar to their ancestors. They engaged in practices such as sex before marriage, consenting to unions, and taking on the head role within their homes. However, these acts were perceived in an extremely contrasting manner during this period (after
World War I). Because of this, many were uncertain of how they should approach the act of preserving sexual honor.
Politics and honor within Brazil Turning to a different aspect of society that intertwined itself with idea of honor, politics played a major role in defining honor within Brazil. The country attempted to define honor while displaying this view of honor along with the country's traditions to others around the world. In September 1920,
King Albert and
Queen Elisabeth made a trip to
Brazil. This trip sparked major controversy from different parties in the country. Many believed the trip was an attempt to "Europeanize" the country. Some viewed the trip as a positive way to show off Brazil the country and its civilization. Others viewed the trip as a negative opportunity in which the culture would attempt to conform to European standards. In doing so, attempts by the upper class would be made to hide Brazil's struggle of poverty which was a main part of its society and culture at the time. With this trip the importance of honor intensified. Before the King and Queen arrived, preparing for the couple included exposing and exercising honor in a manner many believed would promote the division of social classes and international affairs. Those who were responsible for posing as advocates for their country concealed their social class under what was perceived as honorable and behaved as though they themselves were a part of an "honorable" class. One of the aspects they displayed were gender ideologies that played a crucial role in differentiating social classes from one another. Natives desired to portray the country the best way possible. In doing so, they defended their families' traditions and morals and sexual honor. Towards the end of the 1930s, the definition of honor within Brazilian society has transformed completely. In result, in 1940, a penal code derived definitions of the term honor. Sexual crimes became a breaking of not family honor but "social customs". With the Vargas regime (Dictator Getúlio Vargas who ruled from 1937–1945), came a new form or definition of honor. Many attribute the change in the meaning of honor and a devaluing of its meaning to Vargas' rule. Vargas attributed the aspect of authority to the meaning of honor. Vargas closely tied traditional Brazilian family honor with the aspect of the nation's honor. Through his regime, Vargas intended to create a hierarchy of social, authoritative classes. However, debates over class, and gender in relation to honor and the nation of Brazil continued to take place. Women continued to transform their traditional roles and these changes could not be neglected. ==See also==