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Nisha Chittal, University of Illinois July 29, 2007 - 9:07pm.  Comment
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Last May, a young woman named Du'a Khalil was brutally stoned to death in an "honor killing" - all because she fell in love with someone she was not supposed to love, and brought shame upon her family and her Yazidi ethnic group. To the horror and dismay of the international community, several men watched the killing - and instead of doing something, many of them captured the entire thing on their camera phones and distributed the video all over the internet (including YouTube).
Reading about Du'a Khalil's story made me sick to my stomach, and I was hardly the only one. Filmmaker Joss Whedon (remember the guy who created Buffy the Vampire Slayer?) was disgusted by the incident and wrote about it at Whedonesque.com. Something has to be done, he said. We have to take action to prevent further violence against women. Why?
“Because it’s no longer enough to be a decent person. It’s no longer enough to shake our heads and make concerned grimaces at the news. True enlightened activism is the only thing that can save humanity from itself. I’ve always had a bent towards apocalyptic fiction, and I’m beginning to understand why. I look and I see the earth in flames. Her face was nothing but red," Whedon wrote.
In response, five people have begun the Nothing But Red movement, which proposes creating an anthology of responses to the tragic death of Du'a Khalil, and want YOU to contribute. The organizers are accepting submissions of essays, stories, poetry, photography, art, anything that deals with the important issues of violence against women, the culture of misogyny, and the need for equality.
So budding writers, artists, and anyone else who wants to make a difference -- check out the Nothing But Red webpage to learn more about this movement and find out how you can contribute submissions for their book. And for all you Facebook lovers - Nothing But Red also has a Facebook group , which I know I'll be joining and I hope you will too.
Countless women like Du'a Khalil have been affected by violence and will never have their stories heard; make a difference and do something about it today.
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Nisha, I read all the comments to Joss's commentary on the Whedonesque Web site, and they are articulate and heartfelt and impassioned. But, as someone who's worked in the area of "honor" killings for a long time, I was a little disturbed by how quickly people wanted to act without first educating themselves about what they are and what they aren't. Also, just a knee-jerk collective leap to support a nonprofit he supports without doing due diligence or researching what else might be needed to protect people like Dua and to locate other worthy nonprofits.
I would encourage people to do a little more homework. One recently published book on this subject that actually provides empirical data (rare in relation to "honor" killings) and offers some insights into the underlying thinking is a book called "Reclaiming Honor in Jordan" by Ellen R. Sheeley, which is available on the American version of Amazon. The "honor" killing book by Norma Khoury, which she presented as nonfiction, has been largely discredited, so I wouldn't recommend people buy or read that one unless they realize that it is a work of fiction (though fairly representative of crimes that actually do occur).