Amina Jamal, Mandeep Kaur Mucina and Farrah Khan are planning a symposium and edited collection of (as posted on website of the Institute for Feminist Legal Studies at Osgoode Hall) “critical essays on “honour” related violence. The idea for this anthology emerged initially in reaction to the murder of Aqsa Parvez and the responses of various institution and communities. As other murders of young women come to light in Canada, such as Amandeep Atwal, Jassi Sidhu, Zainab, Sahar and Geeti Shafia, we find that there are limited spaces for us to mourn and reflect on the complexities of these murders.
“Often the reactions of mainstream society and the questions posed to us are the following: is violence endemic to South Asian communities? Do some religions condone “honour “based killings? Reacting to the death and to the responses, the following questions became a central focus for our work: How can we begin discussing the complexities of violence in South Asian and other racialized communities? What are some ways to do this without reinscribing colonialist assumptions that violence lives in racialized cultures? Indeed how do we talk about violence within and with our communities outside of the parameters of dominant discourse? How do we demand accountability for gendered violence within our communities without serving the interests of institutional racism, economic exploitation, Islamophobia and hetero-national imperialism”?
Submissions are welcome from academics, community workers and activists from perspectives from sociology, critical criminology, education, gender studies, law, social work, cultural studies, communication and social psychology.
Suggested topics may include but are not limited to:
Popular media, critiques and questions
Grassroots movements to address violence
The “Honour” crimes industry
Sexual and bodily rights
Community conversations, healing, resiliency
The Construction of girlhood
Counseling frameworks and supports
Experiences in newcomer and/or racialized communities
State interventions and policies i.e. immigration
Role of institutions i.e. education and social services
The Editors are also planning to hold a symposium, inviting contributors to present their papers to “critique and share some of the work that is currently happening in the Canadian context”.
Deadline for abstracts: August 10, 2012. For more information, visit the IFLS website.
