Turkish police recovered the body of Medine Memi, a 16-year-old girl, who was buried alive by her father and grandfather in an "honor" killing carried out as punishment for talking to boys.
 The pit from where the buried girl's body was recovered |
She was found in a sitting position with her hands tied, in a two-meter hole dug under a chicken pen outside her home in Kahta, in the south-eastern province of Adiyaman.
Medine had been abused and beaten by her father and grandfather several times and she had sought help from Police three times, only to be sent back to her home.
Medine’s father had told relatives he was unhappy that his daughter – one of nine children – was talking to boys.
Official figures indicate that more than 200 such killings take place each year, accounting for around half of all murders in Turkey.
What makes this case particularly disturbing is its gruesomeness. A postmortem examination revealed large amounts of soil in Medine’s lungs and stomach, indicating that she had been alive and conscious while being buried. Her body showed no signs of bruising.
Honor killing happens in all Islamic counties, and thanks to the immigration of Muslims it has now spread to Europe, America, Australia and also Canada.
Governments in Islamic countries claim to do their best to put an end to this evil practice. Then why it cannot be stopped and why it is spreading?
To find an answer we must understand where the problem is originated. Honor killing is neither in the Quran nor in the hadith. However, it is the logical consequence of the Islamic misogyny and upbringing.
Women in Islam are seen as sexual beings. Every part of their body is thought to be erotic. Every square inch of her, is sexual. She must cover from head to toe, because her entire body is perceived to be private parts.
In Pakistan, women are called awra. Awra or aurat means the part of the body that has to be covered. Exposing the Awra is unlawful in Islam and is regarded as sin. Etymologically, the term Awra derives from the root ‘a-w-r which means "defectiveness", "imperfection", "blemish" or "weakness" – however the most common English translation is "nakedness".
The Islamic regime of Iran calls women zaifeh. It’s the feminine for “weak.” This implies also mental weakness since according to Muhammad women are deficient in intelligence. This sums up the status of woman in Islam. You can’t be more explicit than this.
In a society that women are seen as weak, defective and private part, any contact that they may have with men is deemed to be sexual and unlawful.
Women in Muslim countries are segregated. From the very childhood boys and girls are kept apart. They don’t play with each other, don’t go to school with each other, don’t ride on the same bus, and don’t shake hand or have eye contact. Any contact with women can arouse the pious Muslim men sexually, which would not only cause him to sin, but also would dishonor her male relatives.
The Quran (4:34) says men are in charge of women. The same verse says “good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded.”
The secret is their awra. Since in Islam the woman’s whole body is considered to be sexual, they must cover every part of their body and avoid contact with stranger men. Verse 24:31 says believing women must lower their gaze, be modest and they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty to strangers.
In the west, one can shake hand with a woman, dance with her and even kiss her on the cheek, and none of that is considered to be sexual. But one must not touch her in her crotch. That is private part.
A Muslim woman’s entire body is private part. So if you shake hand with her it is the same as touching her crotch. If she displays her hair, it is as exposing her pubic hair. Everything in her is sexual and private part.
In Islam women are the namoos (ناموس) of their male relatives. Namoos can be roughly translated as honor, but with a sexual connotation. The namoos of a Muslim hinges on protecting his female kin from prying eyes. If a woman displays her beauty or talks to a stranger man, the namoos of all her male relatives is injured. The only way to redeem an injured namoos is to wash the stain with blood.
Patriarchal societies produce men with devalued sense of self. Therefore, a Muslim man’s “honor,” depends almost entirely on how he can keep his female dependants under leash. Should he fail to do that he is shamed. He knows that everyone will be talking about him and laughing at him behind his back.
He can restore his namoos by killing the woman that has been “defiled.” The Islamic society does not look down at such a man, but rather he is lionized as having ghairat (pride, sense of honor).
The question is how to stop this insanity. Now that we know the root cause of this problem the answer is obvious. The problem is Islamic misogyny. We can’t expect more from a society that treats its women as deficient in intelligence, weak and a defective thing that has to covered. Where women are dehumanized and sexualized honor killing is the outcome.
Honor killing is not the only problem affecting Islamic countries. Dictatorship, violence, terrorism, poverty, human rights abuses, and a host of other problems that are endemic in Muslim countries are all due to teachings of Islam.
There is one obvious solution for all these problems, but it is politically incorrect to say it. The problem is Islam, and the solution is to get rid of it. This required telling the truth about this faith and criticizing it in the same way that Christianity and all other faiths have been criticized. However, while it is okay to criticize every other faith, criticizing Islam is taboo - in Europe, it is illegal.
The Dutch government is prosecuting a member of their parliament (Geert Wilders) for telling the truth about Islam. His prosecutor has said it clearly that it does not matter whether Wilders has told the truth, because it was illegal to say it.
Telling the truth is illegal. But only truth can set us free. Meanwhile, thousands of innocent girls like Medine, thousands of victims of terrorism, and thousands of victims of religious violence will meet their death every year in the hands of devout Muslims who just want to practice their faith, faithfully. Even these murderers are victims of a lie.
There is no end to these senseless killings until Islam is criticized in the same way that other faiths have been criticized. Until then more lives will be lost.
