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The NY Times Magazine recently ran a very disturbing story on “honor killings” entitled “A Dishonorable Affair.”

The story recounts the death of a 16-year-old Syrian girl named Zahra al-Azzo who was raped at the age of 15, imprisoned to protect her from the revenge of her family, and finally married to a sympathetic cousin at age 16. Just a month after her wedding, Zahra al-Azzo’s 25-year-old brother stabbed her as she slept in an attempt to purge the disgrace brought upon the family by her rape.

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Though the theology behind honor killings is slowly coming under criticism from prominent Islamic scholars, apparently the ancient practice continues, taking the lives of an estimated 5,000 women annually around the world.

The NY Times explains:

Some advocates claim that Syria has an especially high number of honor killings per capita, saying that the country is second or third in the world. In fact, reliable statistics on honor killing are nearly impossible to come by. The United Nations Population Fund says that about 5,000 honor killings take place each year around the world, but since they often occur in rural areas where births and deaths go unreported, it is very difficult to count them by country. Some killings have been recorded in European cultures, including Italy, and in Christian or Druse communities in predominantly Muslim countries. But it is widely agreed that honor killings are found disproportionately in Muslim communities, from Bangladesh to Egypt to Great Britain.

Yet there are signs of change. In Lebanon last month, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, the top Shiite cleric and spiritual leader of Hezbollah, issued a fatwa banning honor killing and describing it as “a repulsive act, condemned and prohibited by religion.” And earlier this year, Egypt’s grand mufti upheld a fatwa stating that Islam permits a woman to have her virginity “refurbished” through hymen surgery, which would allow her to marry and would eliminate the need to cleanse the so-called stain on her family’s honor. He even appeared on national television to advise Egyptian women considering the procedure. Although the ruling has been assailed by conservative scholars, it has been welcomed by those who hope it will prevent future honor killings.

The Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organization is calling for a repeal of the Syrian laws that permit these types of “honor killings.”

To support the campaign (which has over 10,000 signatories already from within Syria) please send an email with your name, address and organisation to nesasy@gmail.com with the subject line “Stop honor crimes!” You may also contact the Syrian Embassy to ask for this vital change in the law.

It may be too late for Zahra, but perhaps her story can save another woman’s life.

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