the Pakistan government promised to amend their laws around honor killings.

巴基斯坦政府承諾將修正「名譽處決」的法律漏洞

This comes on the heels of the 2016 Academy Award winning short documentary,

就在《河中女孩：寬恕的代價》贏得奧斯卡最佳紀錄短片之後

"A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness."

《河中女孩：寬恕的代價》

The film tells the story of a Pakistani woman

紀錄短片描述一名巴基斯坦婦女

who was badly beaten, shot in the head and left in a river to die

遭到毒打、頭部中槍後被拋在河中等死

all because she married a man whom her father and uncle didn't approve.

只因為她的丈夫沒有得到父親與叔父的認可

In fact, the UN has estimated that

據聯合國估計

as many as five thousand honor killings like this occur every year

每年至少有 5 千起類似案件

So what exactly are honor killings?

究竟什麼是名譽處決？

An honor killing is the murder of one family member by another,

名譽處決是家庭成員將自家人處以極刑

due to a perceived shameful act by the victim upon their family or community.

因為受害人的行為損害家族名譽

They are predominantly carried out in honor based societies,

這種習俗大多出現在重視名聲的社會

which define a person's standing by their integrity in the eyes of the community.

在這樣的社會中，個人的聲譽決定社會地位

Those with honor are generally viewed as good, while those without are shamed.

有名望的人就能抬頭挺胸、沒有的人便是家門恥辱

In these societies,

在這種社會中

women are believed to dishonor their families through immoral, often sexual, behavior.

女性若不守婦道、有失貞節便會讓家族蒙羞

Because a woman is generally understood as a man’s property,

由於女性是男性的所有物

their betrayal strips away their honor, and can be punishable by death.

女性若失節，便等同丟男性的臉，就可以處以極刑

Honor killings can happen as the result of

名譽處決可能發生在以下情況：

a woman seeking escape from an arranged marriage, or having an extramarital affair,

女性若逃避家長安排的婚姻或有婚外情就會被處決

but they can also stem from actions as basic as

其他簡單的原因包括

dating someone not accepted by a family or wearing western clothing.

交往對象不受家庭認可，以及穿著西方服飾

Some women have even been killed after being victim to a sexual assault or rape.

有些女性甚至因為遭到強暴、性侵而被處決

In 2015, a Syrian woman was brutally murdered, allegedly by her father and brothers,

2015 年一名敘利亞女性據稱遭到父親與兄弟殘忍殺害

after she was gang raped.

只因她被人輪姦

The woman had fled Syria two years earlier, for fear that her family would see her as "unclean."

即便兩年前她就因為害怕家族認為她「不潔」而逃離敘利亞

Honor killings were prominent in ancient Rome, where the male head of the family

名譽處決早在古羅馬時期便相當盛行，當時的男性族長

could murder sexually active daughters and adulterous wives.

可以處決有性行為的女兒和通姦的妻子

This idea carried into the Ottoman Empire,

鄂圖曼土耳其帝國承襲這個習俗

where men who were found guilty of killing their wives were exempt from responsibility

殺害妻子的丈夫可以因此脫罪

or given reduced sentences.

或減刑

Ottoman men were even known to publicly boast about the act as a way to increase their honor.

鄂圖曼男人甚至以公開炫耀此舉來抬高自己的聲望

Interestingly, this idea was borrowed from an almost identical

有趣的是，19世紀的法國刑法內容也有雷同之處

19th century French penal code, which remained on the books until 1975.

該法條直至 1975 年才遭到廢除

Today, honor killings are usually associated with countries in the Middle East and North

現在名譽處決多發生在中東和北非

Africa, but the horrific practice still occurs in other parts of the world, including India,

但世界其他國家也有這個習俗，包括印度

Europe, Latin America and the U.S.

歐洲、拉丁美洲和美國

Despite its prevalence in Islamic regions,

雖然名譽處決盛行於伊斯蘭教地區

honor killings are never mentioned in the Quran or Hadith.

但可蘭經和聖訓中並沒有相關記載

And religious authorities, like Ayatollah Khamenei of Iran, have publicly denounced the practice.

而地區宗教領袖，如伊朗的 Ayatollah Khamenei，也曾公開譴責這種行為

But in countries like Jordan and Iraq the legal system tacitly approves of honor killings,

但約旦和伊拉克的法律卻默示名譽處決

as murder sentences are reduced

殺人兇手能獲得減刑

if the victim was deemed to have brought dishonor to their family.

只要受害者有損其家族名譽

In fact, perpetrators in Jordan

據報，約旦的殺人犯

reportedly serve no more than six months behind bars for the crime.

刑期都在半年以下

The Queen of Jordan has repeatedly spoken out against honor killings,

約旦皇后曾多次公開反對名譽處決

however the country's parliament has resisted closing up loopholes

然而國會遲遲不願修改法條

that allow killers to get off with little or no punishment.

讓殺人犯持續鑽漏洞逃過刑罰

But government negligence is only part of the problem.

不過政府默示只是問題的一小部分

The larger issue is the subordinate role women play in society.

更嚴重的議題是女性在社會上的從屬地位

According to a 2013 study, nearly half of Jordanian boys

根據 2013 年的研究，約旦有近半男孩

and 20 percent of girls believe that killing a woman in the name of honor is justifiable.

以及兩成女孩認為，以聲譽之名處死女性再合理不過

Religious and political leaders in countries like Pakistan and Jordan are pushing measures

巴基斯坦和約旦的政教領袖正積極尋求方法

that would further criminalize honor killings.

將名譽處決有罪化

However, the heinous acts are likely to continue until broad societal norms also give way.

儘管如此，這樣仍無法遏止殘忍習俗，除非社會規範整體改變

Westerners have a lot of misconceptions about the Muslim world, and the women in it.

西方社會對伊斯蘭世界及婦女有諸多誤解

Find out what some of them are by watching this video up top.

想知道是哪些誤解，請看上方影片

Or to learn about some of the most women-friendly Muslim countries, watch this video below.

想知道哪些伊斯蘭國家對婦女友善，請看下方影片

Thanks for watching Test Tube News,

感謝收看 TestTube News

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