Nāmūs is the
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
word (
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
"νόμος") of a concept of an
ethical
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...
category, a
virtue
Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standard ...
, in
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
ern
patriarchal
Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of Dominance hierarchy, dominance and Social privilege, privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical Anthropology, anthropological term for families or clans controll ...
character. Literally translated as "virtue", it is now more popularly used in a strong
gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
-specific context of relations within a family described in terms of
honor
Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...
,
attention
Attention is the behavioral and cognitive process of selectively concentrating on a discrete aspect of information, whether considered subjective or objective, while ignoring other perceivable information. William James (1890) wrote that "Atte ...
,
respect
Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also the process of ...
/respectability, and
modesty
Modesty, sometimes known as demureness, is a mode of dress and deportment which intends to avoid the encouraging of sexual attraction in others. The word "modesty" comes from the Latin word ''wikt:modestus, modestus'' which means "keeping within ...
.
Etymology
The
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
word "nāmūs" () may mean "law", "custom" or "honor". The
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
word "nómos" (νόμος) means "law, custom".
Gender
''Namus'' has been translated into English from the
Turkish language
Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant sma ...
with different meanings. Honor is used to mean ''namus'' in the English language translation of Filiz Kardam's 2005 paper on ''namus cinayetleri'' (literally ''namus'' murders, used mainly in newspapers), but, as Nüket Kardam has written,
chastity
Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance. Someone who is ''chaste'' refrains either from sexual activity considered immoral or any sexual activity, according to their state of life. In some contexts, for example when mak ...
is a more accurate translation than honor. This is built into the legal system which permits reduced sentences for
honor killing
An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of t ...
s.
According to researcher Robert Ermers honor means moral reputation.
When individuals have a good moral reputation, people in their community are likely to include them. Thus ''namus'' means sexual moral reputation. When people possess namus, their friends, neighbors and other community members, believe that they are sexually trustworthy and of integrity. This is a precondition for being included.
When, however, an individual's honour is damaged, e.g. by means of slander, libel, or their own factual moral transgression, this moral reputation is likely to be damaged, with social death as a consequence, which can also extend to family members.
The
Turkish language
Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant sma ...
has multiple words to describe related concepts of honor including ''namus'', ''onur'' and ''şeref''. Though ''namus'' is often understood as feminine sexual virtue or
chastity
Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance. Someone who is ''chaste'' refrains either from sexual activity considered immoral or any sexual activity, according to their state of life. In some contexts, for example when mak ...
, this definition is only part of current use. The official definition of ''namus'' from the dictionary Foundation of
Turkish Language
Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant sma ...
is "the attachment of a society to moral rules". The notion of ''namus'' is related to sexually deviant behavior and not limited to women: men who are known as rapists are also known as ''namussuz'', as are families that do not respond to rape of a family member.
Women's premarital
virginity
Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...
is still regarded as a matter of honor in some areas. A girl that keeps her virginity is considered trustworthy and reliable, conditions for a successful marriage. These cultural perceptions persist in modern metropolitan areas, as well as in the more traditional areas of the rural countryside. Some old customs continue to endure, such as requiring proof of virginity in the form of blooded sheets, or in some cases by medical examination, even though most people are aware that many virgins (about 50%) do not bleed.
Brides in areas where the stained cloth is part of a ritual are often helped by (female) family members by means of chicken's blood or other means. Although
Kemalism
Kemalism ( tr, Kemalizm, also archaically ''Kamâlizm''), also known as Atatürkism ( tr, Atatürkçülük, Atatürkçü düşünce), or The Six Arrows ( tr, Altı Ok), is the founding official ideology of the Republic of Turkey.Eric J. Zurche ...
has contributed to the rapid modernization of the country in many aspects, traditional sexual mores have proven to be resilient. Even those families who encouraged their daughters to pursue professional careers as teachers, doctors or lawyers maintained the expectation that these women would continue to conduct themselves as "dedicated mothers, and modest housewives", which are important societal ideals.
In some societies, e.g., in
Pashtun tribes
The Pashtun tribes ( ps, پښتانه قبايل), historically also known as Afghan tribes, are the tribes of the Pashtun people, a large Eastern Iranian ethnic group who use the Pashto language and follow Pashtunwali code of conduct. They ar ...
of
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
, ''namus'' goes beyond the basic family and is common for a ''plarina'', a unit of the tribe that has a common ancestral father (e.g. a clan).
[.]
Violations of namus
The ''namus'' of an entire family is violated if, for example, an adult daughter is not dressed "appropriately", or if they tolerate a sexual offense without reaction. For example, a family that does not respond when their daughter is raped (or seduced) is ''namussuz''. The appropriate response in some areas is to kill the rapist (or seducer). This task then befalls on the men of the family, and for this reason it is often believed that namus is merely a concern of men, not of women.
[Werner Schiffauer, "Die Gewalt der Ehre. Erklärungen zu einem deutsch-türkischen Sexualkonflikt." ("The Force of the Honour"), Suhrkamp: Frankfurt am Main, 1983. .][Uli Pieper]
Problemfelder und Konflikte von Kindern ausländischer Arbeitsmigranten in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland
, a sociological analysis.
Anatomie eines Ehrdelikts
'' ("The Anatomy of Honour Crimes"), by Werner Schiffauer Werner may refer to:
People
* Werner (name), origin of the name and people with this name as surname and given name
Fictional characters
* Werner (comics), a German comic book character
* Werner Von Croy, a fictional character in the ''Tomb Rai ...
.
Among Pashtuns an encroachment on a family's plot of land also signifies violation of their ''namus'',
[ while in Turkey this would be considered a matter ''şeref'' and the need to respond a matter of ''gurur'' (assertiveness). Families that do not respond to such violation are considered cowards.
]
Restoration of namus
Family members are vulnerable when one group member commits deviant behavior. If a woman or a man transgresses important moral and sexual norms (a wife, sisters, daughters, brothers, uncles), their common ''namus'' is lost in the eyes of the community, following the mechanism of associative stigmatization. The entire family then risks being cast out. They have to cleanse their family's honor in order to prevent exclusion. In some areas this is done by murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
or forced suicide
Forced suicide is a method of execution where the victim is coerced into committing suicide to avoid facing an alternative option they perceive as much worse, such as suffering torture, public humiliation, or having friends or family members imp ...
. These are then honour killings type II.[Robert Ermers, ''Honor Related Violence. A New Social-psychological Perspective''. Routledge, 2018.]
While the social mechanism of stigma by association is common all over the world, honour killings occur in some regions in the Middle East and adjacent areas. In immigrant societies within western societies, girls and boys face conflicts with their families that are poorly understood; their risks may be underestimated or overestimated.[A Matter of Honor, Your Honor?]
, by Rhea Wessel
Rhea may refer to:
* Rhea (bird), genus of flightless birds native to South America
* Rhea (mythology), a Titan in Greek mythology
It may also refer to:
People
* Rhea (name), list of people with this name
Mythology
* Rhea Silvia, in Roman myth ...
, the first article in her series about the rights of Muslim women in Europe, particularly Turkish women in Germany.
Contrarily to what is often thought, in cases of rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
, the woman is often seen as a victim. She can often convince her family members that she was deceived by a man with false intentions. In such cases, in particular when outsiders hear about the rape incident, families consider that the ''namus'' of their whole family has been damaged and to restore it, an honor killing
An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of t ...
of the rapist is necessary (numbers unknown). When the case is known in the community, and family members do not believe the woman's account and think she had a part in the incident, they may also kill her. Some of the estimated yearly 5,000 female victims are women whose accounts are not believed.[Ending Violence against Women and Girls]
, a UNFPA
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), formerly the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, is a UN agency aimed at improving reproductive and maternal health worldwide. Its work includes developing national healthcare strategies ...
report. A woman in such a position may also commit forced suicide. In Pakistan, acid is often thrown on the victim's face to disfigure her as an alternative to murder.[Hillary Mayell]
Thousands of Women Killed for Family "Honor"
National Geographic News February 12, 2002. retrieved 5-1-07 but many of these cases are in fact carried out by disgruntled men whose marriage proposals were refused by the woman and/or her family.
A family's honor is not damaged by the birth of girls. Yet having many sons contributes to the status of a family. When a family kills a new a female child infanticide
Infanticide (or infant homicide) is the intentional killing of infants or offspring. Infanticide was a widespread practice throughout human history that was mainly used to dispose of unwanted children, its main purpose is the prevention of reso ...
or sex-selective abortion
Sex-selective abortion is the practice of terminating a pregnancy based upon the predicted sex of the infant. The selective abortion of female fetuses is most common where male children are valued over female children, especially in parts of Eas ...
may occur, these are not instances of honour killing but of frustration of not being able to keep up with societal ideals.
In arts
The 1925 Armenian silent film ''Namus
Nāmūs is the Arabic word (Greek "νόμος") of a concept of an ethical category, a virtue, in Middle Eastern patriarchal character. Literally translated as "virtue", it is now more popularly used in a strong gender-specific context of relat ...
'' tells the ill fate of two lovers, who were betrothed
An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself (which is typically but not always commenced with a wedding). During this period, a couple is said to be ''fi ...
by their families to each other since childhood, but because of violations of ''namus'', the girl was married by her family members to another person. In 2006 it was restored, digitized and dubbed in French.
Abdullah Goran (1904–1962), the modern Kurdish poet, condemned honour killing
An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of t ...
in his poem "Berde-nûsêk" ("A Tomb-Stone").[Shahrzad Mojab and Amir Hassanpou]
In Memory of Fadime Şahindal: Thoughts on the Struggle Against “Honour Killing”
retrieved 5-1-07.
See also
* Izzat (honour)
Izzat ( hi, इज़्ज़त; ur, ; bn, ইজ্জত) is the concept of honour prevalent in the culture of North India, Bangladesh and Pakistan. It applies universally across religions (Hindu, Muslim and Sikh), communities and genders ...
* Jineology
Jineology () is a form of feminism and of gender equality advocated by Abdullah Öcalan, the representative leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the broader Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK) umbrella. From the background of honor-based ...
* History of rape
The concept of rape, both as an abduction and in the sexual sense (not always distinguishable), makes its appearance in early religious texts.
Ancient Near East
Scholars of the Ancient Near East debate whether certain pieces of legislation re ...
* Honor killing
An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of t ...
* Manoj–Babli honour killing case
* Mesopotamian marriage law
* Culture of honor (Southern United States) The traditional culture of the Southern United States has been called a "culture of honor", that is, a culture where people avoid intentionally offending others, and maintain a reputation for not accepting improper conduct by others. A theory as to ...
* Honor codes of the Bedouin
''Sharaf'' and ''ird'' are Bedouin honor codes. Along with hospitality and courage/bravery, it is one of the Bedouin aspects of ethics.Patai, Raphael. '' The Arab Mind''. Charles Scribner's Sons: New York, 1973. Bedouin systems of justice are b ...
* Bedouin systems of justice
Systems of justice among the Bedouin are varied among the tribes. A number of these systems date from pre-Islamic times, and hence do not follow Sharia (Islamic religious law). Many of these systems are falling into disuse as more and more Bedoui ...
Sources
*
References
{{Reflist, 2
External links
International Campaign Against Honor Killings
contains an extensive archive of news reports and photos of victims
relates namus to "Myths about and fear of women's unchecked sexuality and men's legitimacy to curb that sexuality."
Islam and women
Turkish culture
Honor killing
Arab culture
Honor killing in Europe