Our honour and his glory

Description

In some areas of North Africa, the Middle East and Asia, honor is deemed of such importance that a father, a brother or a cousin is entitled by tribal custom to kill a woman, often a young girl, who is suspected of having sullied the family moral standard. Legislation now exists in countries such as Egypt and Jordan prohibiting such "honor killings" but the incidents of this practice do continue, rarely acknowledged openly. This film documents two cases in Palestinian villages. A nineteen-year-old girl attempted to return to her family which had cast her out in disgrace. Her death was announced publicly. One young, pregnant single girl was kept in prison to protect her from her family. After giving birth, she was spirited to the West Bank where she was given a new identity. While the traditional tacit acceptance of "honor killings" is now challenged by human rights and women's rights groups, in instances like the ones depicted in the film, they have not intervened.

Runtime

29 min

Subjects

Geography

Genre

Date of Publication

1999

Database

Alexander Street

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