Honour-Based Violence: Experiences and Counter-Strategies in Iraqi Kurdistan and the UK Kurdish Diaspora - Hardcover

'The result of sustained and in-depth research on the part of the three authors and their activist allies, this publication is based on a study commissioned by the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq on "honour"-based violence in Iraqi Kurdistan and the Kurdish diaspora in the UK. The book is a richly substantive contribution to a growing scholarly literature. A lucid reflection on this scholarship informs the authors' situating of the scope and challenges of the project, which draws on "feminist perspectives, women's activism and action research" to explore these forms of violence and strategies of response to them. The authors are to be congratulated for a distinctive effort.' Lynn Welchman, SOAS, University of London, UK '"Honour based killing" is culture-dependent but nevertheless a universal phenomenon that needs confronting. This book is an important contribution to the growing feminist literature on this subject, the first of its kind to focus on Iraqi Kurds. This is especially important these days when Kurdish women, in the Middle East and in the diaspora, are becoming more organized and are establishing a feminist bulwark against the rise of Islamist fundamentalism and its brutal oppression of women.' Nira Yuval-Davis, University of East London, UK

'Honour'-based violence is a form of intimate violence committed against women (and some men) by husbands, fathers, brothers and male relatives. A very common social phenomenon, it has existed throughout history and in a wide variety of societies across the world, from white European to African cultures, from South and East Asia to Latin America. The most extreme form of Honour-based violence - 'honour' killing - tragically remains widespread. Over the last decade, national and international efforts, including new policy development and activist campaigns, have begun to challenge the practice. Based on a pioneering and unique study, conducted collaboratively by the Centre for Gender and Violence Research, University of Bristol, the University of Roehampton and Kurdish Women's Rights Watch, this book is at the forefront of this new and challenging policy direction.