ABSTRACT
Crimes of honour are women’s human-rights violations. These specific forms of violations, killing women in the name of honour (and the various forms of violence resulting from honour codes) are widespread in Turkey. This highly sensitive and controversial issue is discussed in this chapter from a variety of perspectives: the lack of due diligence and legal and cultural punishments (despite the recent developments on the eradication of these crimes of honour) is the main focus of this chapter. First, the author attempts to address the terms used, namely honour and custom, in dealing with honour crimes in Turkey. An ongoing volatile political environment, the effects of the armed conflict in gender relations and their effect on these types of gender-based violence must be kept in mind when analysing these different terminologies. What breaches the code of honour, how breaches are handled differently in various circumstances, and what ‘cleans the dirt on the family name’ are detailed and explained. Most importantly, the sequence of events and different factors leading to an ‘honour killing’ are also presented. All of these issues (addressed in the second part of this chapter) are illustrated with a case study from S¸anlıurfa. Although the case took place some time ago, it is still a very typical example of what happens in crimes-of-honour cases in Turkey. The transgression of the social codes, restoring honour within the family, the court procedures adopted and the final verdict of the court highlight some very crucial issues in cases like the one selected for discussion. The chapter finally addresses the reforms made in an attempt to eradicate the practice of HRV in Turkey in recent times.
