Week 11

Blog Week 11

Reading #1: Dicle Kogacioglu- The Tradition Effect – Framing Honor Crimes in Turkey

            In this article, these women have been placed in this situation where they are either following the rules or being prepared for their murder. In Turkey it is completely okay for someone to kill their daughter for example in order to save the honor of their family if the daughter decides to be making the wrong sexual choices. When trying to change the way people view these women and their rights we get stuck in what is called the “traditional effect” in which women can suffer through violent actions and yet it is not really discussed or looked through so much since the actions are part of tradition. But honor crimes are something that many people have been working on getting rid of.

            The JDP is one of the groups who work on giving women justice in these countries. They believe that this problem of honor killing and “suicide” is become a more common problem with young women. Their solution is to give these women and their families more education and attention to the situation. The problem is that all these resources are not so available especially in communities with high levels of poverty. Even those who work towards laws to change this still continue to shape their laws under traditional situations.What confused me about this whole article is that it doesn’t really explain as to why these honor killings are happening or what causes them to be okay. Honor killing is just something that happens and then it is done for you move on with no questions as to why this even happened.

Reading #2: Afsaneh Najmabadi- Crafting and Educated Housewife in Iran

            This reading concentrates on the power of the women with in her home as a mother and wife to the family. In reading you find out that the women is the one in charge of the schooling and education, but then there is a part where the man is also part of this due to physical learning process for boys. The women must be responsible for the nurturing part of the child while he/she is in the womb. After children are born it is their job to teach them, but they do not choose what to teach. The example they give here is almost if the man of the house is the owner and the woman becomes the manager of the household instead of the mother or wife.

            Eventually women worked to where education for women was just as good and equal value as that of men’s. But even when these women are educated many of them are not listened to because it is a world ran by men. Therefore if men decide that being good and educated means simply being a young and beautiful wife as the article states then that is all that matters because women have no say in who is heard.