Reclaiming Honor in Jordan: A National Public Opinion Survey on "Honor" Killings

Ellen R. Sheeley Nonfiction

Author Biography

Ellen R. Sheeley is the author of Reclaiming Honor in Jordan: A National Public Opinion Survey on "Honor" Killings and a contributor to the anthology Nothing But Red.
Continue Reading »

Favorite Books

I vacillate between Khaled Hosseini's "The Kite Runner" and Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes." I've read both multiple times and relate perhaps too well to Hassan in "The Kite Runner," for I first read that book while in the midst of my own shattering betrayal by a friend for whom I would've taken a bullet.

Favorite Authors

Khaled Hosseini and Frank McCourt, bien sur.

What I'm Reading

For the last couple years, I've been on a serious jag of reading books about the Arab world, Islam, and the Middle East. I've probably blown through over 100 books on these topics.

At the moment, I'm reading Ali A. Allawi's "The Occupation of Iraq: Winning the War, Losing the Peace," though I'm not far enough along to offer an assessment.

My favorite book in this genre is Raphael Patai's "The Arab Mind." It is unavailable (code for banned) in Jordan, making it, of course, that much more attractive. :-) But a Canadian friend sent me a copy while I was living in Amman, and I found it so useful in understanding the culture that I almost immediately re-read it from cover to cover (something I'd never done before). It is a large tome, so that is no small undertaking. In this book, I suppose I was seeking not only to better understand the culture, but also the phenomenon of dishonor killing (although the book does not address that directly) and the reasons for my supposed friend's sudden, explosive, unprovoked betrayal. In it, I found some answers, but questions and mysteries remain. Maybe one day everything will be illuminated.

Web Links

Reclaiming Honor in Jordan: A National Public Opinion Survey on "Honor" Killings

Synopsis:

In early 2003, Ellen R. Sheeley began to educate herself about "honor" killings, particularly those that take place in Jordan. That summer she journeyed from her home in San Francisco, California, USA to Amman, Jordan, where she learned of the needs for empirical, objective, baseline data pertaining to the Jordanian public's attitudes, opinions, and beliefs about "honor" killings and for a sustained marketing campaign to change hearts and minds. As a seasoned marketing professional, she was confident she had the ability and the qualifications to fulfill these needs. Unable to secure funding or sponsorship from the obvious and even the not-so-obvious sources and, yet, unwilling for mere lack of financial support to give up on the needs of the at-risk individuals and the victims, she quit her job, moved from her home, placed her personal effects in storage, bade adieu to her loved ones, and returned to Amman in October 2005 to perform the work pro bono, funded by her private savings. Reclaiming Honor in Jordan is a result of this effort and reveals a number of surprising findings about public opinion on this subject. Profits from this book will contribute to "honor" killings work.

Write a Review »