Death before Dishonour!

by Barry ORegan | July 27, 2007 at 06:02 am

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Opinion

Barry Artiste, Now Public Contributor

This Motto has been around for decades, normally Tattoo'd on the arms of Bikers and Military Units. One would never think it would pertain to young women as young as 12 years old. The UN reports 5,000 honour killings in the world on any given year for such inconsequential trivialities Western teenage girls take for granted such as owning a cellphone, talking about boys, going to the mall alone to driving a car.

My Final Thought
It's certainly shows the inequality of the sexes when a culture, a religion or both are part of the equation, yet men are relatively unscathed and can do any of the above with impunity. It certainly makes one wonder why some women defend a faith, mode of dress and lifestyle which permits men and even family members to kill them on what seems a whim. It certainly speaks volumes on the growing suicide rate among these women when Death before Dishonour is preferred either by their own hand or that of their families who are supposed to love and nurture them.

A70-year-old British grandmother is facing life imprisonment after luring her daughter-in-law to India and murdering her in the latest case of what is known as an honour killing, the most extreme dignity-saving tactic by immigrant communities who increasingly find their cultural traditions being challenged by modern lifestyles.

A court in London yesterday found Bachan Athwal, who has six children and 16 grandchildren, guilty of killing Surjit Kaur Athwal, who disappeared while on a visit to India in December, 1998.

The 27-year-old woman was married to Bachan Athwal's son, Sukhdave Singh, 43, who was also found guilty of murder.