Honour killings and domestic violence are both forms of gender violence, which control and undermine the autonomy of women. However, this is not widely accepted due to the perception the West has of honour killings as a cultural issue. Within this essay, I will explore the West 's perception of honour killings as a cultural problem, which stereotypes and judges minority cultures, ignoring the real issue of violence against women, which has no social or cultural boundaries. I will also discuss feminist discourse on control and power, which is relevant in demonstrating the similarities between domestic violence and honour killings. Furthermore, I will discuss the …show more content…
Codes of honour construct what it means to be a woman and man, which is central to the social meaning of gender. Aggressiveness and the exercise of complete control over females is a masculine virtue and is part of what it means to be a man (Gill, 2003: 249). In the context of domestic violence, men are affected by the 'cult of masculinity ' (Wolfe, 2012). In order to be masculine or have worth as a male, they must take control in their home if they are in a situation where they have been challenged or weakened which undermines their authority and masculinity. Through violence, men seek to deny, intimidate and destroy the power of women (Copelan, 1994:121) Women in these relationships do not initially identify the behaviour as violent and excuse the violence, blame themselves or attempt to modify their own behaviour to prevent violence (Hunter, 2005: 740). Through women altering their behaviour, rationalising and excusing the violent behaviour from their partner, they are surrendering to their abusive partner and allowing them to assert their dominance via domestic violence (Aujla & Gill, 2014: 154). It is considered socially acceptable and justified for men to utilize violence to subordinate women as it is within the construction of masculinity. Honour killings and domestic violence demonstrate that …show more content…
The construction of gender and perception of women throughout the world creates a cycle of violence, which has no social, cultural or religious boundaries. Both domestic violence and honour crimes are forms of violence against women, which directly target and seek to control the autonomy of