Honor and Everyday Violence among Migrant Communities in Istanbul

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  • 名誉解釈の多様化と暴力
  • 名誉解釈の多様化と暴力 : イスタンブルの移住者社会の日常生活をめぐって
  • メイヨ カイシャク ノ タヨウカ ト ボウリョク : イスタンブル ノ イジュウシャ シャカイ ノ ニチジョウ セイカツ オ メグッテ
  • イスタンブルの移住者社会の日常生活をめぐって

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Abstract

<p>In Turkey, two contrasting views regarding honor-based violence against women have gained widespread acceptance in recent years. One is the view that honor-based violence is customary, while the other sees the patriarchal gender structure as the culprit behind such violence. The former argument, which is quite popular in the public discourse of the country, defines honor as a custom or tradition of a particular group of people, namely, the Kurds of Eastern Anatolia. According to that view, honor-based violence is associated with the underdevelopment and feudal tribal structure of the Kurdish population. Honor killing (namus cinayeti) is often called customary killing (töre cinayeti). Assuming that honor killing is the custom of savage Kurds, it is regarded as inevitable among that group, while honor-based violence occurring outside the community of the Kurds or Eastern Anatolia is lost from sight. The latter argument, which is mainly supported by feminists, assesses honor-based violence in the context of the variations of violence toward women under patriarchy. The idea of honor is reduced to an abstract idea of patriarchy as a system of male dominance. That view, by ignoring the cultural meanings of honor, also remains inadequate to explain why the practice of violence in the name of honor is justified among, at least, the parties concerned. </p> <p>The aim of this paper is to explore the operation of honor-based violence by focusing on the interpretation and practice of honor (namus). The study deals with the everyday honor-based violence conducted by husbands against wives. It includes restrictions on the mobility of wives, control over how they dress or who they socialize with, and beating as a punishment for their misconduct, such as breaking these rules or disobeying their husbands. The study is based on the author’s fieldwork conducted among the migrant community of Sultanbeyli, which is located on the periphery of the Asian side of Istanbul. The urbanization of Sultanbeyli began in the late 1980s, which was during a later stage of urbanization in the country. Known for its rapid urbanization, it is one of the poorest districts of the city and is characterized by illegal squatter housing called gecekondu. </p> <p>The interpretation of honor among the people of Sultanbeyli has diversified in the course of recent social, economic, and ideological transformations. What honor means and how women and men should behave to protect their honor has become less obvious than ever, and is the subject of negotiation among the people of Sultanbeyli. This study focuses on the interpretation and practice of honor in the particular contexts of (1) rapid urbanization,(2) increasing unemployment and poverty,(3) the marginalization of migrants, and (4) the emerging discourse of women’s rights. </p> <p>The study suggests that honor cannot simply be reduced to a matter of male dominance. For a woman, restrictions on her mobility by her husband to protect her honor as well as his and his family’s honor could be accepted as an act of protecting her as his wife. She reconfirms her identity as his wife and her place in local society. The Turkish expression sahip çıkmak has the double-meaning of to protect and to control. The two acts are two sides of the same coin. </p> <p>(View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)</p>

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