The concept of women as bearers of honor serves as a powerful yet subtle tool of patriarchy, controlling and claiming women’s bodies while perpetuating a male-dominated order by sanctifying women as embodiments of honor. In Afghanistan, this notion of honor has evolved into a deadly phenomenon, claiming hundreds of women’s lives each year, yet society rarely acknowledges it as a critical social crisis deserving scrutiny. Within this framework, men build their symbolic prestige and dignity upon the bodies, lives, and fates of women.
On May 2, 2025, Afghanistan’s Hasht-e Subh Daily hosted a panel discussion titled “Women as Honor: Sacred Tradition or Justification for Femicide?” The event gathered writers, sociologists, and women’s rights activists to explore this pressing issue. The panel examined the facets of honor, femicide, its manifestations, causes, and potential solutions. Speakers included Manizha Bahra, a sociologist; Mursal Sayyas, a writer and human rights activist; Mazda Mehrgan, a poet and activist; and Saema Sultani, a writer.
Manizha Bahra opened by dissecting the concept of honor tied to women. She described it as structural violence that robs women of identity, rendering them submissive, passive, and reliant on men. Explaining why honor is exclusively linked to women, she noted that patriarchal structures and mindsets empower men to maintain traditional dominance. To exclude women from public life, men establish norms that sustain patriarchal ideology. This culture confines women to private roles, knowing their presence in public fosters awareness and independent identity. Thus, imposed values, including honor, bind women tightly. Bahra stressed that honor acts as a mechanism of pressure, surveillance, and control, limiting women and seeking to erase their autonomy. It views women not as independent beings but as vessels of male honor, subject to male authority. She added that honor, seen as a collective and familial value, heightens pressure on women. A woman who claims independent identity or exercises freedom in speech or action faces rejection, violence, or harassment from her family. Honor also enforces moral and behavioral codes that women must follow.
Mursal Sayyas highlighted the tangible impacts of honor in women’s lives, stating, “Honor permeates every facet of women’s existence in Afghanistan, starting within the family. Men in the family claim ownership over a woman’s body. Even minor decisions—from clothing to attending university or working—hinge on male approval.” She clarified that while honor is often framed as protecting women in Afghanistan, it restricts them instead.
Mazda Mehrgan explored the discourse and language that normalize honor in society. She argued that cultural structures legitimize honor, allowing men to see women as their possessions, subject to control. Discriminatory laws, religion, and media reinforce this mindset. Mehrgan also cited specific examples and outcomes of honor-driven thinking in society.
Saema Sultani examined Afghanistan’s gendered framework, noting that society assigns the public sphere to men and the private sphere to women. Men’s control extends beyond public spaces to dominate private ones, leaving women without full autonomy anywhere. Even at home, women are relegated to service roles. Sultani argued that while control over women’s bodies is a global issue, honor is distinctly religious. Power structures in such societies hinge on chastity, innocence, and purity, which they preserve by erasing women from public life. The Taliban, she noted, lean on this structure to exclude women entirely from public spaces.
In the program’s final moments, audience members contributed. Helen Farman distinguished femicide from honor killings, noting that femicide may have varied causes compared to other murders. Honor killings, she explained, are often collective acts, unlike other violence typically committed by a close male relative. These killings are premeditated, deemed deliberate murder, and perpetrators may even earn societal praise.
Note: This report briefly summarizes the program’s discussions. Listen to the full conversation on the Hasht-e Subh Daily’s podcast.
You can read the Persian version of this Afghan woman’s story here:
ناموسپنداری زنان؛ سنت مقدس یا توجیهی برای زنکشی؟ | روزنامه ۸صبح
