[Commlist] JICMS 2024 conference. Call for submissions: Reporting Honor Killings in Italian Media

*Call for Submissions*

*Conference:*IV Edition of the Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies

*Location:* The American University of Rome, Italy

*Date:* 13-15 June 2024

*Panel Title:* /*Reporting Honor Killings in Italian Media*/

*Organizer:*Flavia Laviosa (Wellesley College, USA)

*Abstract:*

Over the past twenty-five years, honor killings, perpetrated 
predominantly against women, have surfaced strongly within the human 
rights framework alerting artists, journalists, and political activists. 
The dramatic confluence of social and cultural events that make these 
killings a phenomenon, crossing socio-economic classes and education 
boundaries, is poignantly portrayed in documentaries, feature films, TV 
series, and news in Europe.

When families migrate to new countries, they bring with them their 
traditional honor codes and forms of punishment inflicted on women who 
are deemed to have stained their family’s reputation. These practices 
inevitably cause intercultural and intergenerational clashes when young 
women, born and/or raised in the multi-religious and multicultural host 
country and society, aspire to education and a career, and want the 
freedom to socialize with other groups and make their own choice of partner.

Honor based violence resides within the framework of patricentric, 
patrilineal, patrilateral family structures, communities and societies. 
The justification for the perpetration of violence is the protection of 
a social construction**of ‘honor’ as a value-system, norm or tradition. 
The term covers a spectrum of behaviors involving power, control, and 
intimidation. The men believe that they are acting in the best interest 
for their family since their reputation is at stake, and that they have 
a moral duty towards their own communities.

In Italy 6 cases of honor killings have been widely reported by the media:

1) Hina Saleem**(Gjrat, Pakistan 1985 - Zanano di Sarezzo [Brescia] 
Italy, 2006), 21 years old, was slain by her father because she wanted 
to live like a Westerner and had decided to go and live with a 
non-Muslim man. Her father and his two sons-in-law were each convicted 
of murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

2) Sana Dafani (Italy 1991- Montereale Valcellina [Pordenone] Italy, 
2009), 18 years old of Moroccan origin, was killed by her father because 
she had a relationship with a 31-year old Italian man. The father was 
convicted of murder with a life sentence.

3) Begum Shahnaz (Pakistan – Modena, Italy, 2010) was killed by her 
husband because she defended her daughter Nosheen who refused an 
arranged marriage. The daughter, 20 years old, was admitted to hospital 
with a cranial traumatism and a broken arm after her 19-year-old brother 
beat her with a stick in the courtyard of their building.

4) Sana Cheema (Pakistan1993 - Brescia, Italy, 2018), 25 years old, was 
killed by her father and brother for refusing an arranged marriage. Both 
men were accused of murder in Italy.

5) Azka Riaz (Pakistan 1999- Morrovalle [Macerata] Italy, 2018),21 years 
old, was bitten up to death by her father and then abandoned on the edge 
of a road. The father was convicted of murder with a life sentence.

6) Saman Abbas (Pakistan 2003 – Novellara [Reggio Emilia] Italy, 2021), 
18 years old, refused an arranged marriage with a cousin in Pakistan. 
Five family members are accused: her father detained (extradited from 
Pakistan), her uncle (extradited from France) and two cousins detained 
in Italy, while her mother is still a fugitive in Pakistan. All must 
answer for the charges of kidnapping, manslaughter and suppression of a 
corpse.

The most recent case, Saman Abbas, has been reported daily following the 
investigative process leading to the discovery of where her body had 
been buried and the identification of the perpetrators, as well as the 
trial which is still in progress. The media coverage and the legal 
implications of this case will break new grounds on understanding, 
dealing with and preventing honor based crimes.

The goals of this panel are:

1) To analyze TV crime news and talk shows (e.g. /Crash Files, Il punto, 
La vita in diretta, Ultim’ora. Storie Italiane, Quarto grado, Chi l’ha 
visto? //Prisma Cusano Italia TV/)*//*reporting these cases; and RAI 
archives for earlier cases.

2) To examine the work conducted by Jacopo Della Porta and Elisa 
Pederzoli, journalists of /Gazzetta di Reggio Emilia/ and authors of the 
book /Saman, Vita e morte di una ragazza italiana/ (Compagnia Editoriale 
Aliberti, 2023); and of Martina Castigliani, journalist of /Il Fatto 
Quotidiano /and author of the book/Libere. Il nostro NO ai matrimoni 
forzati /(PaperFIRST, 2022).

3) To explore the impact of human rights activists like Tiziana Dal Pra, 
founder and president of the organization Trama di Terre (Imola).

4) To understand the critical work of intercultural mediators.

5) To reflect on how the Italian legislation defines and regulates cases 
of honor killings.

The discussion of honor killings would be informed by social and 
cultural anthropology theories which problematize the unresolved 
coexistence of culturally diverse and parallel worlds, and offer 
critical lenses to study the complex picture of psychological and 
sociological forms of marginalization as experienced by immigrants in 
Italy. The purpose of this panel is to reflect on how the media 
contribute to the inter-cultural and legal debate.

*//*

Media scholars, journalists, human rights activists, anthropologists, 
psychologists, lawyers and intercultural mediators are invited to 
contribute to this panel.


Interested contributors should send a 250-word abstract and a 150-word 
biographical note (word.doc only, no pdf) to:

Flavia Laviosa at (flaviosa /at/ wellesley.edu) 
<mailto:(flaviosa /at/ wellesley.edu)>by 15 December 2023.


---------------
The COMMLIST
---------------
This mailing list is a free service offered by Nico Carpentier. Please use it responsibly and wisely.
--
To subscribe or unsubscribe, please visit http://commlist.org/
--
Before sending a posting request, please always read the guidelines at http://commlist.org/
--
To contact the mailing list manager:
Email: (nico.carpentier /at/ commlist.org)
URL: http://nicocarpentier.net
---------------