Nazand Begikhani, Aisha K. Gill and Gill Hague, Honour-Based Violence: Experiences and Counter-Strategies in Iraqi Kurdistan and the UK Kurdish Diaspora, Farnham: Ashgate Publishing, 2015, 189 pp., (ISBN: 9781409421900).
Begikhani, Gill and Hague – each internationally-recognised scholars in violence against women – have in this volume produced an authoritative analysis of the causes, manifestations and consequences of honour-based violence (HBV) in Iraqi Kurdistan and the UK Kurdish Diaspora. Drawing on new empirical research comprising 166 semi-structured in-depth interviews with key professionals (government officials, health professionals, judiciary, police, women’s NGOs, media outlets, and victims/survivors) in the two regions, plus case studies of so-called “honour killings” and media content analysis, they have written a wide-ranging book addressing theory, policy and practice. The authors have been tenacious in overcoming considerable methodological challenges, including negotiating access to subjects to discuss socially taboo and criminalised practices, and (in Iraqi Kurdistan) doing so in the midst of terrorist attacks by the Islamic State during 2014. With intellectual rigour and an eye to the practice and policy implications, they have amply met their aims to “(i) assess the nature of HBV, including ‘honour’ killings in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and the Kurdish Diaspora in the UK, and (ii) evaluate the impact of HBV on Kurdish women” (p. 13).
The authors address key contemporary debates about whether HBV should be seen as arising from culture, religion or gender inequalities. They rightly identify that “HBV has historically been defined as a category of cultural violence distinct from domestic violence and violence against women (VAW) more generally” (p. 30), but make a clear and compelling argument for situating HBV as one form of VAW. They address the thorny issue of women’s involvement in perpetrating HBV from a feminist perspective, drawing on patriarchal bargaining theory to show that the involvement of female family members in carrying out HBV is still commensurate with patriarchal systems of socialisation that define women’s identity, worth and status in relation to their role within the family. Thus, for many women, “acquiescing to such ideologies becomes the key to both self-worth and status in the community” (p. 31).
As well as advancing theory, the book introduces new empirical data to make a unique comparative analysis of the similarities and differences between women’s experiences of HBV in Iraqi Kurdistan and the UK Kurdish Diaspora, as well as practical recommendations about policy responses. Three unique points mark this book out from other recent works on HBV: Firstly, the focus on Kurdish communities addresses a significant gap in UK scholarship, research and policy. Despite a number of high-profile Kurdish so-called “honour killings” in the UK over the past 15 years, most policy-making, victim accounts and empirical research have focused on South Asian communities’ experiences of HBV. There remains very little UK scholarship on HBV in Kurdish communities – and so this book is as relevant now, in 2018, as when published in 2015. Secondly, the international comparative analysis of these two regions brings a fresh perspective. It draws out the similarities between Iraqi Kurdistan and the UK Kurdish Diaspora (challenges faced, policy approaches, nature of violence); but also highlights differences unique to both contexts. Thirdly, the adoption of a feminist perspective strengthens the work by putting victim-survivors’ voices and stories at the centre of analysis, whilst contextualising them with the authors’ expert knowledge of history, politics, social and cultural attitudes in each of the research locations.
The authors address a broad range of perspectives and topics on HBV. These individual elements are all in themselves interesting, and consistently paint a picture of patriarchal cultural contexts driving HBV – but the breadth of issues addressed means the book loses some overarching narrative cohesion. Reviews of key theoretical debates are interspersed with geo-political, cultural and historical analyses of the Iraqi Kurdistan region, and new empirical research and policy analyses drawing on a range of data sources. Structurally, the chapters jump somewhat between the two countries, and the different analytical focuses.
The authors explain that each chapter has been constructed deliberately as “stand-alone pieces for ease of use by readers wishing to focus on a particular set of issues” (p. 21). They are perhaps right to suggest that it is better suited to be read as a collection of chapters, than as a unified whole. So doing will have the advantage also of widening the appeal of the book to a greater range of readers and interests.
Unexpected and fascinating were the findings about HBV via cyber abuse in Iraqi Kurdistan – women being shamed and dishonoured via the internet. The authors show how the internet has been a double-edged sword for women in Kurdistan: on the one hand, creating new spaces in which to break the silence around HBV and gender violence; on the other hand, feeding the circulation of rumour and gossip and reports of “dishonourable” behaviour. These findings about the use of new media as tools of both liberation and new channels for abuse are particularly pertinent for current debates in the UK and Western Europe about “sexting”, “revenge porn” and other abuses facilitated by social media.
This book will appeal to a wide range of readers, including: academics and scholars from a range of disciplines, including readers in Kurdish studies and culture; academics in sociology, anthropology, criminology, media studies; activists and NGOs in violence against women; national and international policy makers; criminal justice practitioners; and the interested lay reader. This is an interesting, and – despite the tough subject matter – uplifting read. The authors point to concrete actions which can be taken to build on the progress they already identify in both Iraqi Kurdistan and the UK Kurdish Diaspora. Let us take inspiration from their conclusion that “change is here to stay. There can be no turning back now” (p. 145).