Percentage of UK population per faith group*
Christian – 71.8
Muslim – 2.8
Hindu – 1
Sikh – 0.6
Jewish – 0.5
Buddhist – 0.3
Other religions – 0.3
No religion – 15
Not stated – 7.7
*according to Home Office statistics
Men slaughter women
to preserve honour
Samaira Nazir was 25 when her brother and cousin stabbed her in front of her toddler nieces because she loved the wrong man – a topical example of a succession of brutal murders to protect the family honour.
The violation of women who act against their families’ will has been summarized with a contradictory term - honour crimes.
A misunderstanding: It is all about dominant men, wrong interpretation of religious sources and the perception of women in patriarchal cultures, experts said.
No honour, just shame
“There is no honour in honour killing,” Diana Nammi, chair of the International Campaign against Honour Killing, said,
“I strongly belief it brings shame to the families.”
The United Nations estimate that a total number of 5000 honour killings occur every year, of those about 12 taking place in the UK. The number of forced marriages and other repressions against women remain uncounted.
Dark reality
Ms Nammi claimed those figures were only official statistics, but the reality was much darker.
"Some women disappear without being registered anywhere, killings might be disguised as accidents, others just go missing, others commit suicide because of family pressure... there are no definite numbers, because nobody knows."
So-called honour crimes have occurred in many European nations since immigrants of different cultures from Asian and Arab countries brought their habits and values with them.
Although honour killing crosses all borders and religions in the world, "it occurs most severely in man-dominated religions like Islam," Ms Nammi said.
Women as family honour
Ms Nammi said the problem was the value of women in patriarchal societies: “In some cultures women are not considered as human beings, but as the belongings of man.
“Men think they can treat them like their other belongings. So the value of a woman is not higher than that of a car – maybe sometimes even less.
“Because a woman is believed to be part of a man’s honour, honour comes first and the lives of women come second. Some men easily kill their wife, daughter, sister or even mother for preserving their honour.”
Professor Haleh Afshar, lecturer of politics at the university of York, said honour killing in Western societies had a lot to do with men’s perception of women.
“There are cultural traditions where men jealously regard their daughters and think their sexual behaviour has an impact on the honour of the family,” she said.
However she explained that honour killings were not in the least justified by Islam or any other religion in the world.
"Violence against women is a major concern for all women, regardless of religion," Professor Afshar said.