Namus

Nāmūs is the Arabic word (Greek "νόμος") of a concept of an ethical category, a virtue, in Middle Eastern patriarchal character. Literally translated as "virtue", it is now more popularly used in a strong gender-specific context of relations within a family described in terms of honor, attention, respect/respectability, and modesty.

For other uses, see Namus (disambiguation).

Etymology

The Arabic word "nāmūs" (ناموس) may mean "law", "custom" or "honor". The Ancient Greek word "nómos" (νόμος) means "law, custom".[1]

Gender

Namus has been translated into English from the Turkish language with different meanings. Honor is used to mean namus in the English language translation of Filiz Kardam's 2005 paper on namus cinayetleri (literally namus murders), but Nüket Kardam has written that chastity is a more accurate translation than honor. By the latter definition, honor is seen as an imperfect translation because the concept of namus implies the idea that men have a right to insist on feminine chastity. This is built into the legal system which permits reduced sentences for honor killings.[2][3]

The Turkish language has multiple words to describe related concepts of honor including namus, onur and şeref. Though namus is often understood as feminine sexual virtue or chastity, this definition is becoming outdated amongst some members of Turkish society. The official definition of namus from the Foundation of Turkish Language is "the attachment of a society to moral rules".[4]

Women's premarital virginity is still regarded as a matter of honor by some families. These cultural perceptions persist in modern metropolitan areas, as well as in the more traditional areas of the rural countryside. Some old-fashioned customs continue to endure, such as requiring proof of virginity in the form of blooded sheets, or in some cases by medical examination. Though Kemalism has contributed to the rapid modernization of the country in many aspects, traditional sexual mores have proven to be resilient. Even those families who encouraged their daughters to pursue professional careers as teachers, doctors or lawyers maintained the expectation that these women would continue to conduct themselves virtuously as "dedicated mothers, and modest housewives".[5]

In some societies, e.g., in Pashtun tribes of Afghanistan, namus goes beyond the basic family and is common for a plarina, a unit of the tribe that has a common ancestral father.[6]

Violations of namus

The namus of a man is violated if, for example, a daughter is born into the family instead of a son, or if an adult daughter is not dressed "appropriately", or if he tolerates an offense without reaction.[7][8][9]

Among Pashtuns an encroachment on a man's plot of land also signifies violation of his namus.[6]

Restoration of namus

According to those who adhere to this concept, a man is supposed to control the women in his family. If he loses control of them (his wife, sisters, daughters), his namus is lost in the eyes of the community and he has to cleanse his (and his family's) honor. This is often done by abortion, murder or forced suicide.

In the Western world, such cases are especially visible in immigrant societies when a girl faces the conflict between her choice of the culture of the new home society and the traditions of the old home.[10]

In cases of rape, the woman is not seen as a victim. Instead, it is considered that the namus of the whole family has been violated, and to restore it, an honor killing of the raped woman may happen (estimated 5,000 victims yearly and on the rise worldwide[11]). The raped woman may also commit forced suicide.[12] In Pakistan, acid is often thrown on the victim's face to disfigure her as an alternative to murder.[13]

In British Bangladeshi immigrant culture and in Anatolian Turkish culture the violation of namus can result in the murder of the male involved with the female family member.[14]

Meanwhile, in cases of namus loss due to the arrival of a female child into the family, infanticide or sex-selective abortion may occur.[15]

In arts

The 1925 Armenian silent film Namus[16] tells the ill fate of two lovers, who were betrothed by their families to each other since childhood, but because of violations of namus, the girl was married by her father to another person. In 2006 it was restored, digitized and dubbed in French.

Abdullah Goran (1904–1962), the modern Kurdish poet, condemned honour killing in his poem "Berde-nûsêk" ("A Tomb-Stone").[17]

Technology

In France and in Germany, where there is a large Middle Eastern Muslim diaspora, the women sometimes may resort to cosmetic surgery.[8]

gollark: Except London.
gollark: Mostly because we all have ancient increasingly overtaxed copper phone lines.
gollark: I'm pretty sure that's higher than the UK standard.
gollark: This is a classic free rider problem.
gollark: Bee you.

See also

Sources
  • First Encyclopaedia of Islam: 1913-1936. BRILL. 1993. pp. 844–846. ISBN 90-04-09796-1.

References
  1. Nişanyan http://www.nisanyansozluk.com/?k=namus, Sevan (2010). "Namus" in Sözlerin Soyağacı: Çağdaş Türkçenin Etimolojik Sözlüğü (A Family Tree of Words: A Contemporary Etymological Dictionary of Turkish) (in Turkish). Istanbul: Adam Yayınları. ISBN 978-975-289-636-9.
  2. Ermers, Robert (2018-02-07). Honor Related Violence: A New Social Psychological Perspective. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-74919-1.
  3. Kardam, Nüket (2017-11-30). Turkey's Engagement with Global Women's Human Rights. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-35784-6.
  4. Demos, Vasilikie; Segal, Marcia Texler (2014-05-12). Gendered Perspectives on Conflict and Violence. Emerald Group Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78350-894-5.
  5. Cindoglu, Dilek (March 1997). "Virginity tests and artificial virginity in modern Turkish medicine". Women's Studies International Forum. 20 (2): 253–261. doi:10.1016/S0277-5395(96)00096-9. hdl:11693/10807. ISSN 0277-5395. Archived from the original on 2018-08-02. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  6. Pashtunwali Terminology.
  7. Werner Schiffauer, "Die Gewalt der Ehre. Erklärungen zu einem deutsch-türkischen Sexualkonflikt." ("The Force of the Honour"), Suhrkamp: Frankfurt am Main, 1983. ISBN 3-518-37394-3.
  8. Uli Pieper: Problemfelder und Konflikte von Kindern ausländischer Arbeitsmigranten in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland Archived 2008-05-26 at the Wayback Machine, a sociological analysis.
  9. Anatomie eines Ehrdelikts Archived 2015-05-18 at the Wayback Machine ("The Anatomy of Honour Crimes"), by Werner Schiffauer.
  10. A Matter of Honor, Your Honor? Archived 2007-02-07 at the Wayback Machine, by Rhea Wessel, the first article in her series about the rights of Muslim women in Europe, particularly Turkish women in Germany.
  11. "Ending Violence against Women and Girls", a UNFPA report.
  12. "UN probes Turkey 'forced suicide'", a BBC article, May 24, 2006.
  13. Hillary Mayell, Thousands of Women Killed for Family "Honor" National Geographic News February 12, 2002. retrieved 5-1-07
  14. The honour code that drove a family to murder. Times Online. November 04, 2005. retrieved 6-1-07
  15. "1999-2000 Annual Report Issue" (PDF). Kennedy.byu.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
  16. Namus on IMDb
  17. Shahrzad Mojab and Amir Hassanpour In Memory of Fadime Şahindal: Thoughts on the Struggle Against “Honour Killing” Archived 2007-02-23 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 5-1-07.
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