Saturday, October 31, 2009

That thing called honor: from Hegel to now

"It is crucial, therefore, that we do not fall into the trap of seeing honour killing, for all its horrific nature, or rather because of it, as the expression of an alien culture, religion or tradition that has no resonance in the West. For that reason, both Wikan and Husseini cast their net wide, drawing examples from the United Kingdom, Jordan, Sweden, the United States, Pakistan. It is no less crucial to insist that honour killing cannot be equated with Islam. Both Wikan and Husseini work hard to break this equation. Wikan includes Christian examples and draws on her experience of honour cultures which do not oppress women from her fieldwork in Oman, ‘a Muslim society in which to be honourable means to honour others’." I must say that Husseini started her career playing to the Western expectations of the worst stereotypes of Muslims and women, but she gradually and slowly matured in her thinking as is evidenced by this book. (thanks Ibn Rushd)

PS Look how Hegal talks about Honor in section 164 of the Philosophy of Right: "It must be noticed in connection with sex-relations that a girl in surrendering her body loses her honour. With a man, however, the case is otherwise, because he has a field for ethical activity outside the family. A girl is destined in essence for the marriage tie and for that only; it is therefore demanded of her that her love shall take the form of marriage and that the different moments in love shall attain their true rational relation to each other." (Third Part: Ethical Life, The Family, (addition).