Shame and blame
By John Esther
While four women are killed everyday in the United States due to domestic abuse, in countries such as Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and Iran there is a dis-stink-t rise in dishonorable "honor killings."
Often a price to be paid for the alleged transgressions of female sexuality, or to pay the price for some act committed by a male member of the family, or because of some false accusation by someone in the community, young daughters, sisters, mothers and wives too often pay the ultimate price to preserve some so-called family honor. While one is inclined to laugh at such stupidity, reality is too grossly unjust and usually neither swift or painless, either, to even garner a smile.
Fighting years of tribal mentality, the laws of Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government demands it end the sacrificial ritual, but with little sincerity and less effect. To assist the powers that allow the female populace to bleed to death, The Woman's Media Center of Suleymaniyah, Iraq, provides aid -- often at the considerable personal expense of the women involved -- by pushing the buttons of justice.
As the 64-documentary weaves between positive action and gross ignorance/indifference, filmmaker Mary Ann Smothers Bruni paints a picture of a few women (most women here play a part in their own subordination) fighting against an uncultured culture where females remain second class citizens, whose lives mean nothing if they do not serve patriarchy.
Engaging, and sometimes so enraging one considers sticking his or her hands through the screen and choking some of these misogynistic idiots, Quest of Honor is not for the timid, but rather for the indifferent as well as the committed.
