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For other uses, see Namus (disambiguation).
Namus is an ethical category, a virtue, in Middle Eastern Muslim patriarchal character. It is a strongly gender-specific category of relations within a family described in terms of honor, attention, respect/respectability, and modesty. The term is often translated as "honor". The notion of Namus is known in but not restricted to the Muslim world; it was known also in Armenia (see section "In arts") and Sicily.
[edit] EtymologyFrom Arabic: el-Namus el-ekber الناموس الأكبر, "the one in possession of absolute virtues". According to the Islamic tradition, namus is the law or enlightenment bestowed unto Prophet Muhammad (and to Musa (Moses) before that) during his first revelation. The angel Jibrail, supposed to have delivered this law, is also sometimes referred to as Namus. [edit] EssenceFor a man and his family, namus, among other things, means sexual integrity of women in the family, their chastity in particular. On the other hand, the man has to provide for his family and to defend the namus of his house, his women in particular, against the threats (physical and verbal) to members of his extended family from the outer world.[1] Namus of a man is determined by namus of all the women in his family (i.e., mother, wives, sisters, daughters). In some societies, e.g., in Pashtun tribes of Afganistan, namus goes beyond the basic family and is common for a plarina, a unit of the tribe that has common ancestral father.[2] For an unmarried woman, the utmost importance is placed on virginity before marriage, and "proof of virginity" in the form of bloodstains on a bed sheet is required in some cultures to proudly demonstrate after the wedding night. Professor of sociology Dilek Cindoğlu writes: "The virginity of the women is not a personal matter, but a social phenomenon".[3] In Islamic societies, for a woman, namus is in obedience, faithfulness, modesty (in behaviour and in dress), "appropriateness". [edit] Violations of namusFurther information: Sex segregation and Islam and Purdah The namus of a man is violated if, for example, his daughter is not dressed "appropriately" or if he tolerates an offense without reaction.[1][4][5] "Failing to serve a meal on time", seeking a divorce, narrating a dream of infidelity, being raped can all be seen to damage namus.[6] Among Pashtuns an encroachment on a man's plot of land also signifies violation of his namus.[2] [edit] Restoration of namusA man is supposed to control the behavior of women in his family, and if he loses control of them (his wife, sisters or daughters), his namus is lost in the eyes of the community, and he has to clean his (and his family's) honor. In grave cases, particularly cases involving marriage, this is done by murder or forced suicide. Such cases are especially visible in immigrant societies, when a girl faces the conflict between her choice of the culture of the new home society and the traditions of the old home.[7] In the most conservative interpretations, if a woman is raped, she is not seen as a victim. Instead, it is considered that the namus of the whole family was violated, and to restore it, an honour killing of the raped woman may happen (estimated 5,000 victims yearly and on the rise worldwide[8]). In other cases, the raped woman may, under social duress to restore namus, commit forced suicide.[9] In Pakistan acid is often thrown on the victim's face to disfigure them rather than them being murdered.[6] In the British Bangladeshi immigrant culture the violation of namus can result in the murder of the male involved with the female family member.[10] It must be noted that such acts are against the Islamic law. In Islam, rape is considered a major sin, and the rapist may receive the death penalty. The woman is seen as the victim. Furthermore, honor killings and forced suicide of rape victims are cultural practises which are strictly forbidden in Islam. [edit] Namus around the worldAfghanistan,[11] Bangladesh, Great Britain, Brazil, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Pakistan, Morocco, Sweden, Turkey, and Uganda are countries in which honor killings occur amongst the Muslim population.[6] Namus is still an active force in rural Islamic societies. Between 1994–1996, 53 cases of honor killings of women in the rural southeastern and eastern regions of Turkey received wide media coverage. The actual crime rate is much higher.[12][unreliable source?] In 2002 international attention was drawn to the honor killing of Fadime Sahindal, of the Kurdish minority in Sweden, who violated namus by suing her father and brother for threats and then rejecting the marriage arranged for her.[13] [edit] JordanSharaf[14] is the honor of the family, tribe or person which can increase if the path of moral behavior is followed or decrease if it is left. ‘ird is that honor which relates only to the women in family; it can only decrease. Sharaf is outweighed by 'ird. To regain sharaf 'ird must be cleansed.
Murder, marriage to the person that violated the woman's honor, or marriage to another man will all restore 'ird. Opposition and support In Jordan prison sentences for such killings usually range from 3 months to 2 years.[citation needed] A Jordan Times survey showed 62% opposition to changes to a law that excuses honor-killing. A fear of an increase in "moral corruption in society" was reported. A politician, in response to a proposal to give wives the same right to kill husbands caught in adultery, said, "whether we like it or not, women are not equal to men in Islam. Adulterous women are much worse than adulterous men, because women determine the lineage." Some Jordanian Islamic groups say that punishment of adulterous wives should be left to the state, while other say Islam advocates that male relatives should carry out the punishment. Yotam Feldner writes, "if honour killing originated in pre-Islamic Arab tribalism, it has long since been incorporated into Islamic society and thereby become common throughout the Muslim world, ..."[14] However, "‘Izzat Muhaysin, a psychiatrist at the Gaza Program for Mental Health, says that the culture of the society that perceives one who refrains from "washing shame with blood" as "a coward who is not worthy of living."[14] "Hundreds, if not thousands, of women are murdered by their families each year in the name of family 'honor'."[6] [edit] Forces against honor killingIn many societies that had or have honor killings contrary social forces are also in action. Feminism and human rights workers seek to stop honor killing. National law can be promoted ahead of the right of families to protect namus. Elements of namus are considered by some to be remnants of archaic patriarchal prejudice. In Germany, if it is judged that the killing was an honor crime, the killer gets the maximum sentence of 25 years without parole.[4] Fifty years before the murder of Fadime Şahindal, Abdullah Goran (1904-1962), the modern Kurdish poet, condemned honour killing in his poem, Berde-nfsLk “A Tomb-Stone”.[13] [edit] In arts
[edit] TechnologyEven the associated practice of virginity tests in cases of claimed sexual misconduct do not always protect women from femicide, since gossip and rumors may take precedence over forensic evidence, especially since the practice of virginity restoration has become widespread (for women with sufficient money).[16] In France and in Germany, where there is a large Muslim diaspora, Muslim women sometimes may resort to such cosmetic surgery.[4] [edit] See also
Islamic law: [edit] References
[edit] External links
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