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Expert testimony at Ottawa honour killing trial
by Scott Gilbreath ~ May 19th, 2009
Hasibullah Sidiqi is on trial in Ottawa for shooting to death his sister and her fiancé. He does not deny the homicides, but claims he was justified because his sister had offended family honour by becoming engaged without their father’s consent. In effect, says Mr Sidiqi, he was provoked by his sister’s actions—a defence which, if accepted, could reduce his crime to manslaughter.
Because justifying honour killing is a key element of his defence, the court is hearing testimony on the nature and purpose of honour crime.
Honour killings involve a cleansing of dishonour aimed at restoring a family’s respect after the “misbehaviour” of female relatives, an expert has told the Ottawa murder trial of Hasibullah Sadiqi.
The “act of purifying through blood” involves control of women by male family members, said Shahrzad Mojab, a University of Toronto professor who has researched the topic extensively.
[…]
In many cases, a father or brother will claim the killing happened out of passion or love for the woman, but it’s argued that the woman had to be sacrificed for the larger love of the family and restoring respect, Mojab said. At the heart of the issue is the power of male family members over female relatives.
An Ottawa Citizen editorial condemns Sidiqi’s alleged code of honour as an instrument of oppression.
But the adherence of an accused to a misogynistic code of honour, on its own, should never be enough for a Canadian court to mete out a lighter sentence. Is an honour killing any less criminal than, say, a random shooting? If Canada ever answers “yes” to that question, that will signal an abandonment of the principle that all people, regardless of sex or race or sexual orientation, are equal under the law.
To accept Sidiqi’s claim of provocation would be to accept misogyny as a mitigating factor in a murder charge.
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May 22nd, 2009 at 03:28 PM
[...] EXPERT TESTIMONY at Ottawa honour killing trial …. [...]