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A review by agirlandabook85
No Honour by Awais Khan
4.0
“A girl holds her own honour between her legs she had always been told”
No Honour tells the story of 16 year old Abida living in a small Pakistani village. When she finds herself pregnant out of wedlock she faces the fury of her village seeking to restore honour through her and her child’s death.
Honour killings occur due to the belief the victim has brought dishonour upon the family or community and the act will restore reputation and honour to their family.
Pakistan has the highest number of documented and estimated honour killings per capita of any country in the world; about one-fifth of the world's honour killings are committed in Pakistan (1,000 out of the 5,000 per year total recorded in 2018). Despite numerous legislation reform they continue to this day.
Khan in writing No Honour bravely seeks to shine a light into the dark and harrowing parts of his country. This book is violent, abhorrently shocking, difficult to read and left me feeling angry. The treatment of Abida will leave you questioning the humanity in this world but her strength, determination and courage due to the love of her father was inspiring.
“It was like a drop of kindness in an ocean of violence”
Khan’s complexity of characters provided much needed balance to this story, it could without this given the subject matter proven too difficult to read. Not all men are portrayed as evil but they hold their own struggles with societal expectation and appearing weak. In contrast few women are sympathetic to the plights of girls like Abida their judgement is deeply ingrained by their own fear and long standing prejudices.
This is not a book that you can easily say was enjoyable to read but it is an important book to read, educate and continue the conversation regarding women’s rights. Reading this whilst watching news reports in Afghanistan shows just how much more needs to be done.
No Honour tells the story of 16 year old Abida living in a small Pakistani village. When she finds herself pregnant out of wedlock she faces the fury of her village seeking to restore honour through her and her child’s death.
Honour killings occur due to the belief the victim has brought dishonour upon the family or community and the act will restore reputation and honour to their family.
Pakistan has the highest number of documented and estimated honour killings per capita of any country in the world; about one-fifth of the world's honour killings are committed in Pakistan (1,000 out of the 5,000 per year total recorded in 2018). Despite numerous legislation reform they continue to this day.
Khan in writing No Honour bravely seeks to shine a light into the dark and harrowing parts of his country. This book is violent, abhorrently shocking, difficult to read and left me feeling angry. The treatment of Abida will leave you questioning the humanity in this world but her strength, determination and courage due to the love of her father was inspiring.
“It was like a drop of kindness in an ocean of violence”
Khan’s complexity of characters provided much needed balance to this story, it could without this given the subject matter proven too difficult to read. Not all men are portrayed as evil but they hold their own struggles with societal expectation and appearing weak. In contrast few women are sympathetic to the plights of girls like Abida their judgement is deeply ingrained by their own fear and long standing prejudices.
This is not a book that you can easily say was enjoyable to read but it is an important book to read, educate and continue the conversation regarding women’s rights. Reading this whilst watching news reports in Afghanistan shows just how much more needs to be done.