People have been committing so-called honour crimes since time immemorial. While many of us believed these acts were a thing of the past, reality has bluntly taught us otherwise. Around the world, people are dying by the thousands in the name of honour. The Shafi a murders were Canada’s wake-up call. Sweden was shocked by the slaying of Fadima by her own father. Honour killings are happening in England, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, Canada… in ever increasing numbers.
In Crimes Without Honour, the filmmaker explores several lines of enquiry through the stories of Aruna Papp, a Christian from India living in Canada; Necla Kelek, a Turkish woman living in Germany; Sara, a Kurd who has settled in Sweden and Arkan, a young Kurd who was raised “like a Swede”. Aruna, Necla, Sara and Arkan have all had the courage to stand up against their communities’ criminal traditions and denounce these hateful crimes, even at the risk of ostracism.