English

Alternative forms

• honor killing (US)

Noun

honour killing ‎(plural honour killings)

1. (euphemistic, Britain, Canada) A Middle Eastern and South Asian cultural practice whereby a family member, usually female, is murdered by other family members, the act being justified as retribution for a (usually sexual) slight upon the family's honour.
   • 2008, Riaz Hassan, Inside Muslim Minds, Melbourne University Press, page 200,

     The prevailing patriarchal and misogynist practices prevailing in Muslim countries have created an association between Muslim countries and honour killing in the public mind. However, according to UNICEF, the practice of honour killing is an ancient one and involves men killing female relatives in the name of family honour for forced or suspected sexual activity outside marriage, even when the women have been victims of rape.

   • 2009, John Azumah, My Neighbour's Faith: Islam Explained for African Christians, WordAlive Publishers, unnumbered page,

     Such honour killings are justified by quoting Sura 4:15. A man who kills his wife, mother, daughter or sister for sexual indiscretion or for eloping (both acts that are regarded as bringing dishonour to the family) is either lightly fined or immune from prosecution.

   • 2011, Ali Rattansi, Multiculturalism: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, page 55,

     What is true of forced marriages is also true of the horrific practice of ‘honour’ killings, a term that acts as a fig leaf for the (often premeditated) murder of young women who have supposedly brought ‘shame’ to the honour of families.

See also

• honour violence

Translations

Usage notes

• Sometimes written in inverted commas to indicate condemnation by implicitly expressing disbelief in the honour of the act.