Murder in the Name of Honour

Chewing gum, laughing at a joke in the street, wearing make-up or a short skirt, choosing a boyfriend or husband, or being raped by a brother. All have been cited as 'honourable' motives for murder.


Rana Husseini's hard-hitting and controversial examination of honor crimes is a fearless, groundbreaking account of a topic that can no longer be ignored. Claiming the lives of 5,000 women every year, the practice is common in many traditional societies around the world, as well as in migrant communities in Europe and the USA - where incidents are becoming increasingly frequent. These so-called honour killings are usually carried out by a relative as an act of purification to restore the family's honour.


Breaking through the conspiracy of silence, Husseini gives voice to the thousands of women who have lost their lives, whose murderers often receive encouragement, admiration and mitigated sentences. In this book, she describes her battle to change outdated laws and expose those countries that still, even today, legally allow killers who claim to have struck in the name of honour to walk free.


Including the personal stories behind many high-profile cases that have recently hit the news as well as many of the unreported tragedies, no other writer has taken such an unflinching look at one of the most brutal practices in the modern world.