Last Resorts

The New York Times has a story and a video journal on self-immolation of women in Afghanistan. It is a contribution to raising awareness to the despair women face by the lack of options everywhere. Forced marriage, sexual, gender and domestic violence/abuse and little to no options to leave unsafe situations safely or to seek counselling because of cultural taboos – compounded with a strict sense of honour linked with the behaviour of female family members - leads women to suicide (sometimes pre-empting their own honour killing). Women identify their limitations on movement outside the home limiting their suicide options. Women also believe that burning is an instant death – an assumption that leaves many with extremely painful, disfiguring but non-fatal burns.

The authors speak to this phenomenon being highest in some areas of Afghanistan in close proximity to Iran (where the practice is also common). However it is not only common to this region. I have been exposed to this in Kurdistan, Jordan and the occupied Palestinian Territories, and know of its commonality across the Middle East (and further afield). Women choose this method because it can be attributed to a “cooking accident” saving face for family members. More alarmingly however is the practice of burning as a method of honour killings – much for the same reason and particularly where states have made judicial progress towards persecuting perpetrators of honour killings. It is easier to hide from investigation.

I think the most disturbing story I heard, while in the Jordan Valley, was of a woman who had gone to the toilet in an outhouse. While she was in there, her family members threw in kerosene and a lit match from a small vent into the confined space and burned her alive. The women I spoke with said that this was not the first time in their community this method had been used. These stories point to a greater need to integrate counselling into programs in women friendly spaces and to improve community liaison to lift taboos associated with talking about gender based violence and depression. Moreover, international development partners and states need to encourage a holistic approach to protection of women and girls – not only through judicial and security reform – but also through involvement in health, education programs and community/state building throughout the process. There needs to be recognition that as states progress to greater gender equality and to protecting the rights of women and girls the threats facing them may change.

A great person to follow on this is Rana Husseini and the team at the Jordan Times that have worked tirelessly to remove the leniency in Jordanian law towards honour killings and further afield. No Honour in Crime follows Honour Killings as well [primarily Arabic].