Honour killings: At the margin of the gender hierarchy
Victims of honour killing are generally women who are suspected of having managed their chastity in ways that conflict with the wishes of their families (by refusing an arranged marriage, having an affair, etc.). Perpetrators of honour killings are usually men from the same family group as the victim. A gender hierarchy operates adjacent to honour killings and crosses governance ladders (local, national, international). To show that this is the case, we focus on the 6 April 1999 murder of a Pakistani woman, Samia. Analyzing the debate that surrounded this case allows us to demonstrate that the gender hierarchy marginalizes women as a whole. We then look at the female role as not only an accomplice in honour killings in that it acts to consolidate an androcentric marital order but also as accomplice in love stories that compete with the idea of arranged marriage. Women, in acting as lovers and mediators of love affairs, serve to destabilize the patriarchal and patrilineal system. As well, by analyzing the UN Special Report on violence against women, we provide further information on the way in which (op)position to honour killing and the gender hierarchy crosses governance hierarchies.