Jordan should abolish articles of law aimed at reducing the penalties for honour killings

Ahlam
born: 1990
Murdered: 17 July 2020
Residence: Amman, Jordan
Origin: Jordan
Kids: -
Perpetrator: her father

Ahlam, a Jordanian girl in her thirties, was exploited by her family, and when she asked the police for help, the cops thought it was enough that her family promised to be better. The violence against Ahlam continued.

On 17 July 2020 at 9 o'clock in the evening the neighbors heard screams, they saw Ahlam running around in the street covered in blood and saw her trying to escape from her family and begging her mother to help her.

Her head would have been smashed by her father with a brick, neighbors who wanted to help would have been kept at a distance by her brothers. After the murder the father is said to have had a cup of tea near the corpse and accepted congratulations from his brothers.

In Jordan, there are still a number of articles of law that ensure that the perpetrators of honour crimes are punished particularly lightly.
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Honor crimes under Jordanian law

Under Article 340, any man who has murdered his wife or one of his female family members can count on a reduction in punishment if he did so after having caught her committing adultery. Before the 2001 amendment, Article 340 provided for a total exemption from punishment in certain circumstances, although it was rarely invoked. In an attempt to make this law "gender neutral", a second clause was added in 2001 which ensures that female attackers can also receive the same reduction of sentence.

Effective exemption: Article 98

The part of the Penal Code most frequently invoked by perpetrators of honour killings is Article 98. This statute provides for a reduction in punishment for an offender (of both sexes) who commits a crime in a "state of great anger" as a result of an unlawful and dangerous act committed by the victim.

We advocate the abolition of these articles of law.Honour killings should be seen as an aggravating circumstance in Jordan, as in all EU member states, and the local police should present all perpetrators of honour killings to the judges on the basis of the true story.

Jordan should use its legislation to connect with more developed countries and reconsider the special position of perpetrators of honour killings in order to combat the phenomenon effectively.

What is an honour killing?

An honour killing is a murder in the name of honour. If a brother murders his sister to restore family honour, it is an honour killing. According to activists, the most common reasons for honour killings are as the victim:

refuses to cooperate in an arranged marriage.
wants to end the relationship.
was the victim of rape or sexual assault.
was accused of having a sexual relationship outside of marriage.

Human rights activists believe that 100,000 honour killings are carried out every year, most of which are not reported to the authorities and some are even deliberately covered up by the authorities themselves, for example because the perpetrators are good friends with local policemen, officials or politicians. Violence against girls and women remains a serious problem in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Serbia and Turkey.