Professor Mustafa Mirzeler

I thought that Prof. Mirzeler did an amazing job on Tuesday of explaining Turkey, honor killings, and the head scarf dilemma there. I loved seeing all of the images of Turkey that he put into the power point, and I was impressed that he put so much effort into it at the last minute to give us a great presentation. His passion for his country was impressive, and it was heartbreaking when he spoke about not wanting to go back because of the changes that have occurred there.

The part of his talk that I found most compelling- as did the rest of the class- was his discussion of the honor killings in Turkey. I found myself completely absorbed in his story of his family and the decision they had to make about his sister. It was terrible to listen to the pain he went through as the family tried to decide what to do. I kept wondering, how would his life be different if he would have had to go through with it? Would he have had to remain in Turkey? Faced punishment despite being ten years old? I can't imagine he would have achieved everything he has if he would have had to participate in the killing of his sister. It really made me think about the pressures a community can put on its members.

The thing that astounds me about honor killings is not that a family could kill one of its members- although it is heinous and incredible to think about-  but that the community could want such a thing to happen. Families will go to extreme measures to protect the ones they love, and if that means sacrificing a member to protect all the rest, maybe that is what has to happen. It is easy for us to say that they could just ignore it or leave, but for a family that has nothing but a few possessions and maybe a little bit of land, leaving may be impossible. That leaves the community to blame. If any family can be dishonored, can become a victim of a rape or divorce or anything, then why not stand up as a community and say we don't want this to happen anymore? That you don't want to kill your neighbor? Would other people in the community come after you and your family? Everything about this blows my mind!