Instigation by the Family:
Teenager Kills Sister in an Honor Crime

 Yahya Alous
 Translated by: Susanna Ferguson

Honor crimes continue to happen in Syria, as Syria remains without an organization or authority to limit these crimes or, at the very least, to record their number and description. The crime highlighted in this article is a highly traditional one because the killer is a confused young man of less than fifteen years old (and thus, importantly, a minor in the eyes of the law), from the al-Qasir area west of Homs. He was urged by his family to commit an honor crime, and the gun used in the killing belonged to the family as well. The victim was his older sister, who had been seduced by a youth from a nearby village.

This classic crime is similar to hundreds, even thousands, of other crimes that have taken place within Syria in the past using honor as an excuse. This crime will also probably come to the same conclusion as the crimes of the past—the government will fail to do its duty by the woman, and assign the killer a jail sentence of anywhere between one week and a month at most, since he is a minor. Likewise, advocacy organizations will continue to fail to put this issue strongly to the courts or to gather enough support to change the unfair process through which these sentencing decisions are made--a process which continues to allow the killers to escape the punishment they deserve.

Another issue that requires discussion is the support of public opinion for a new legal response to honor crimes. Could a significant proportion of the public be convinced to support a change in these legal practices that discriminate against women? To convince enough people to support this kind of change might prove extremely difficult without an authority or organization permitted to do the necessary research or conduct the surveys critical to informing the public about honor crimes in Syria. The current media coverage of honor crimes is weak and doesn't reach the public effectively, and this presents a serious obstacle to the shifting of public opinion in favor of a change in policy. However, there are some websites which are trying to transform the coverage of honor crimes, and, unlike the mainstream Syrian media, these are not merely temporary campaigns.

In Syria, the issue of honor crimes has been addressed on a social, legal, and moral level. What is needed at this point is a serious attempt to change the processes through which legal decisions regarding honor crimes, and the sentences of those who commit them, are made. These decisions should not be left up to individual judges who can (and do) interpret the laws as they like, because it allows the legal system to fail the women whom it is supposed to protect.