Daily Lessons from Life 08 December 2009

"Jordan woman killed over 'bad behaviour': police - Mon, Dec 07, 2009 AFP

AMMAN, JORDAN - A Jordanian man was charged on Monday with premeditated murder after stabbing to death his 30-year-old married sister over her alleged 'bad behaviour,' police said. Apparently the 'bad behavior' is that lady's husband is in jailed and she went to see her 5-year old son who is staying at her family home too often.

'Honor Killings' is punishable by death in Jordon but apparently there is a reluctant by the court to institute such punishment in the cases that do get to courts!"

I do not have the full facts of the case and am not sure if the brother is deranged or that the lady is 'not just seeing her 5-year son' on her outings. The fact remains the brother killed his sister for what he called 'honors'! Honors of what? of who? The dead sister?

Lessons for me are:

1. such action cannot be a rational response. It has to be done when emotion run high and wild! Honors is something very emotional in nature. The ancient Japanese samurais will commit suicide for 'honors'. Even today some people killed themselves for honors though not that many killed their womenfolk for the men's or the clan's honors!;

2. if sex is their objection, then it is fairly backward. In China, in USA, and in many other societies, having affairs due to whatever reasons are no longer reasons to kill! That applied to a couple in a relationship as deep as husband and wife. Surely the same cannot be same of the infidelity of siblings? What would this man do the President Clinton!? He would have killed him for dishonoring his family for having that thingy with certain intern? LOL!!;

3. yet this story revealed how emotion cannot be rational. It is cultural. The fact that the courts are reluctant to hand down the legal punishment by laws for such a crime i.e. 'honors killings'; showed that the majority still condone such a behavior. While I don't promote infidelity, if proven and for not good reasons, I definitely cannot see how killing someone who had made that choice will be helpful to restoring the 'honors' of the family. Maybe it is deep rooted cultural feeling I do not or cannot understand.

May the man get what he deserved unless he truly realized his folly and are extremely remorseful for his 'stupid and rash' action. If that is the case, maybe he can be asked to champion the stopping of 'honours killing' so that others who still harboured such a mindset can be free from it! It will take an even greater courage to break the mode!