Research Description:

The Price of Honor - Lifting a Veil of Silence in the Islamic World

How have economic relations challenged cultural and religious practices in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan: A case study on Jordan's reaction to Honor Crimes?

Increased economic interaction between and among governments and peoples of all ideologies, languages, cultures, and religions are gradually creating a set of global standards, ideals and practices. Subsequently, these principles are introduced to the developing world as the necessary precursors for the establishment of a successful governing system. In many cases, the international standards that are introduced via trade relationships, direct foreign investment, and conditional aid, conflict with cultural norms; specifically, international women's rights norms have created controversy in the Middle East. Global standards on gender rights have found their way thousands of miles into the Mediterranean through economic relationships and currently influence regional, cultural, and religious practices within the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The term honor killing describes the practice in which a male relative, who discovers his wife or close female family member in an adulterous act, retaliates with murder, pain or conflict in order to purify the family name. Many of these honor killings are also committed if the girl was raped or if the cause of impurity was incest. It is evident that global gender norms are in conflict with some of the traditional cultural practices in Jordan. Currently, global principles on women's rights are incompatible with both the manner in which many interpret Islamic Law and with the traditions found in many predominately Islamic countries. Economic interactions, such as trade, direct foreign investment, and aid have unveiled many of the cultural practices that have caused many women to endure suffering and torment. The necessity of economic relations has influenced not only economic policy within the kingdom, but it has also influenced political and social behavior in Jordan. Economic relations have paved the way for a restructuring of Jordanian practices in reference to women.