Week 11

In Dicle Kogacioglu's "The Tradition Effect - Framing Honor Crimes in Turkey"  she describes honor crimes and how the perceptions of honor killings are primarily based on tradition or culture and are referred to as “ codes of honor.Honor crimes stand at the intersection of multiple political and social dynamics. She argues against this way of thinking and states that once tradition is blamed people feel there is no necessity to inquire into the ways the institution can be implicated in the making of honor killings. She critiques the differences in law for honor killings where women are victim to that of blood feud in which men are victims. Honor crimes are defined as the murder of a woman by members of her family who do not approve of her sexual behavior. Sentences for honor killings could be reduced if the person was feeling “ uncontrollable grief”, if he was provoked, a younger man and for several other reasons all supported  by law. In contrast in blood feuds which occurred between two families and each family kills a male member of the rival family the law increases penalties and deems them as unacceptable behavior. 

In Cynthia Enloe's "Updating the Gendered Empire" she too discusses the effects that military institutions have on Iraq and Afghanistan women. She argues that we need to become curious about the U.S imperial empire, to make sense of and become curious about marriage of factory women, gender dynamics in families, sexual policies the U.S military forces in Afghanistan. Womens roles in an empire are crucial yet over looked as where they are naturally meant to be. Enloe discusses the importance of women’s roles yet men trying to rank and manipulate the varieties of femininity. As seen when the government choses its allies which will more than likely privilege masculinity. 

Both of the articles talk about the power of institutions in the control of women and women’s rights. As well as show the clear separation of women and males rights. For sentences to be  reduced from a 24 to 30 year to only 4 to 8 i think is crazy. Yet when a man is murdered the law increases the penalties in hopes that it will be less likely to occur.