[HOME ] [ABOUT] [PHOTOS] [VIDEO] [BLOG] [HOUSTON] [TEXAS] [U.S. NEWS] [WORLD NEWS] [SPORTS] [POP CULTURE] [CONTACT]
Perry's remarks about Turkey raise questions about honor killings
by Joseph Earnest January 17, 2012
Newscast Media ANKARA, Turkey — Texas Gov. Rick Perry's answer to a question posed by FOX News' Brett Baier at Monday night's GOP debate did not sit well with Turkey's Foreign Minister, who released a statement chastising Perry.
Perry was asked by moderator Baier whether he believes Turkey still belongs in NATO, due to the violence among women that has increased to 1,400 percent. Perry answered: "The country that is being ruled by, what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists, when you start seeing that type of activity against their own citizens".
Wolf Blitzer of CNN then had a heated exchange with Perry on Tuesday, in which Perry said he stood by his remarks because he does not support a country that engages in honor killings against women.
An honor killing occurs in cultures where a family member is killed for bringing a perceived dishonor to the family name. The perceived dishonor is normally the result of one of the following behaviors, or the suspicion of such behaviors: dressing in a manner unacceptable to the family or community, wanting to terminate or prevent an arranged marriage or desiring to marry by own choice, especially if to a member of a social group deemed inappropriate, engaging in sexual acts before or outside marriage.
The United Nations News Center reports that 5,000 honor killings reported to take place every year around the world do not make the news, nor do the other myriad forms of violence inflicted on women and girls by husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, uncles and other male – and sometimes even female – family members. Read full UN Report on honor killings. (pop-up)
Government figures released by Turkey reveal that of all the honor killings that happen one is reported per day, and is usually committed by a family member, ex-husband or partner against a woman.
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a convention on International Women's Day, "We know that violence against women has been a longstanding bleeding wound of the society, it is being reflected by the media as a growing issue when it is simply the hidden and unspoken truths being uncovered." You may read the full two-page article by the Christian Science Monitor here. (pop-up)
|
|
Join the Newscast Media social networks
for current events and multimedia content.
Copyright© Newscast Media. All Rights Reserved. Terms and Privacy Policy