The Lebanese woman who was reportedly the victim of an "honor killing" this weekend. (Photo from social media networks)
BEIRUT — A 27-year-old Lebanese man from Baalbeck in the Bekaa is suspected of killing his 26-year-old wife, also Lebanese, on Saturday night, an Internal Security Forces (ISF) source confirmed to L'Orient Today. The ISF source also confirmed that the victim had been shot 10 times.
The tragedy occurred in Choueifat, south of Beirut. Following the killing of his wife, the man reportedly fled with the couple's children. Police have sealed the family's apartment, the security source added.
According to local media, the murder took place after the husband found intimate photos of his wife on her phone.
When contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, Ali Zaiter, the mayor of Hadath-Baalbeck, from which the suspect hails, said that what had transpired was a so-called "honor killing."
"Honor killing" is a term often used for murders carried out in reaction to behaviors perceived by some people as having brought dishonor to a family. The vast majority of honor killing victims are women.
Zaiter also mentioned a video circulating on social media networks in which a man, identified as the victim's brother, is seen saying, "I would have done the same thing if her husband had not done it," in reference to the murder of the young woman.
He added that the victim was buried in Beirut a few hours after being killed, but "not many people attended" the funeral.
‘Toxic masculinity’
When contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, Zoya Rouhana, co-founder and director of the organization KAFA, which campaigns against gender-based violence, said that the "toxic masculinity that prevails in Lebanon is the main cause of violence against women. Men consider women as their own property."
Rouhana also recalled that Article 562 of the Lebanese Penal Code allowed, before 2011, the perpetrator of "honor crimes" to benefit from mitigating circumstances, but that this article has since been repealed. She called on "the Lebanese government set up awareness campaigns targeting the most concerned regions."
Reporting contributed by Sarah Abdallah
Editor's note: This article was amended to more clearly reflect the meaning of the term "honor killing."
