Teen Buried Alive for Chatting with Boys

by Alex DiBranco · 2010-02-05 19:53:00 UTC
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The dead body of a 16-year-old girl was found buried near her house in Kahta, Turkey. An expert testified, "The autopsy result is blood-curdling. According to our findings, the girl –- who had no bruises on her body and no sign of narcotics or poison in her blood –- was alive and fully conscious when she was buried." It's chilling to think about what panicked thoughts must have gone through her head.

Sources allege that she was murdered by her father and grandfather, as punishment for her "crime" of having male friends, which she had been beaten her before. They are now awaiting trial for the crime. It's hard to understand how a man could take his daughter, or his granddaughter, and murder her in such a cruel method.

I say murdered, but this tragic death is, of course, counted among the thousands of so-called "honor" killings that are committed by girls' family members every year around the world. Offenses that families -- usually the men in the family -- consider worth killing over can be something as minor as talking to boys. Extreme victim-blaming culture also means that these "honor" killings perpetrated as a "punishment" for girls who have been raped, since somehow murdering the young girl who was already sexually violated removes the shame she brought on her family. (The rapist doesn't have to worry about things like shame, of course.)

It seems, however, disrespectful to the victim of this horrifying crime to refer to it as an "honor" killing. How about a misogyny-fueled murder?

Photo credit: Tom (hmm a rosa tint)

Alex DiBranco is a Change.org Editor who has worked for the Nation, Political Research Associates, and the Center for American Progress. She is now based in New York City.
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