The Concept of
Honour
Dr. Riffat Hassan
(Courtesy : Dawn)
The violence seen
against women in Muslim culture is rooted in the concepts of "honour"
and “shame”. In his essay
on Honour and Shame among the Bedouins of Egypt, A.A. Zeid states; “Of all the
value concepts employed by the Bedouins of the western desert of Egypt, those
of ‘honour’ and 'shame' are the most vague, most complicated and most difficult
to grasp and to analyse.”
He points out
that Egyptian Bedouins have a separate word for 'honour” that is used in the
context of women: “This exclusive term, ‘ird’, is rather difficult to
translate, for it is used only in connection with female chastity, prudence
and continence.”
B. Fares, in
his comprehensive study of family honour among pre-Islamic Arabs, describes ird as follows: “Ird from
its etymology seems to be a partition which separates its possessor from the
rest of mankind. This partition is certainly fragile since it was easily
destroyed. (In the jahiliyya period) ird was intense and of momentous importance;
besides, it was the guiding motive in the acts and deeds of all the Arabs
except those of Yemen ... on account of its sacred nature, it was entitled to
take the place of religion; the Arabs put it in the highest place and defended
it arms in hand."
The writer
asserts, "Among the modern Bedouins we still find ird with all its
pre-Islamic force... the use of the term ‘ird’, in its traditional sense, though less rich in meaning, has continued,
keeping its sacred character and its relation with insult. In the present day,
the meaning of the word has become restricted, in Transjordania it is
associated with the virtue of a woman or even with her beauty. In Egypt, the
ird of a man depends on his wife’s reputation and that of all his female
relatives."
The
pre-Islamic Arabs, living in a state of constant warfare with their
inhospitable environment and each other, were insecure in many ways; They were
particularly fearful of a girl or woman from their tribe or group being
captured and molested. This would bring shame to them, effecting their ird, and
they would become duty-bound to avenge the wrong done. In the opinion of A.A.
Zeid, "ird once lost cannot be .regained” but according to Peter C. Dodd “ird
does not have this all-or none quality and though it may take generations to
restore, yet ird may be regained”.
Whatever be the
case it is clear that a very strong connection existed in the Bedouin mind
between male honour and female chastity. To quote A. A. Zeid once again; “In a
paternalistic society like the Bedouin's where the male occupies a dominant
social position in all aspects and activities of life, it is only natural that
the honour of the group is determined primarily by the behaviour and
achievements of the men rather than the women. Nevertheless, the woman can, and
indeed does, play a conspicuous part in determining the honour of her family
and lineage in a unique and decisive way that cannot be ignored or minimized…. The woman's own conduct in
daily life bears heavily on the honour of her people… this is the clearest with
regard to her sexual activities and especially her chastity.
“The
Bedouins do not impose sexual segregation but they do respect severe rules for
the behaviour of one sex towards the other. Deviation from these rules results
in the murder of the offender. Thus a girl with a bad reputation may disappear
suddenly from the camp, Everyone guesses what has happened to her, but no one
speaks about it, let alone approaches the authorities. Rape on the other hand
is considered a more humiliating offence than homicide,
"The
offender himself is usually killed in retaliation, yet this is not regarded as
sufficient to wipe out the shame. The girl herself is therefore killed,
especially if it is thought that intercourse took place with her consent and
her disgraced kinsmen usually desert their traditional homeland and migrate in a
voluntary exile in a region where no one knows about their ird”
It is important
to note that the term ‘ird’ does not appear in the Qur’an. Nevertheless, just
as in the case of the Bedouins, many Muslim men's concept of ‘honour’ revolves
largely around the orbit of female chastity, and they do not react differently
from the Bedouins to instances of 'dishonour’.
Though a
linkage is seldom made between female infanticide in pre-Islamic Arabia and
honour killings in present-day Muslim societies, a deeper analysis of both
suggests that they are similar in some ways. Both are examples of domestic
violence though this term is relatively new and was not in usage in pre-Islamic
Arabia.
One
of the main reasons why some pre-Islamic Arabs killed their daughters at birth.
It was their apprehension that these offspring were a potential threat to their
honour. Fear of shame and loss of honour also plays a pivotal role in the
commission of many honour-related crimes, According to Amnesty International,
“The number of honour killings is on the rise as the perception of what
constitutes honour.. widens”.
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