Jordanian Media Coverage of Honor Crimes: Content and Implications
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35516/hum.v52i6.7722Keywords:
Honor Killings, Jordanian Media, Khaberni, Hiber, Roya TVAbstract
Objectives: The study identifies the values demonstrated by Jordanian media in dealing with the issue of honour crimes in Jordanian society.
Methods: This study adopts a qualitative methodology using discourse analysis. The discourse analysis focuses on the verbal-visual relationship, voice hierarchy, and intertextuality. The data was gathered from 49 articles published by two Jordanian news websites, Khaberni and Hiber, between 2009 and 2021 (sample includes 7 news items from Hiber and 8 news items from Khaberni) , as well as (2) video clips shown on the privately-owned Jordanian “Roya TV”.
Results: The results show that the Jordanian media's coverage of honour crime issues is lacking and assumes a formal character. This may be attributed to the "tribal" nature of the Jordanian society and the fear of "shame" and scandal. Jordanian media exhibits scant compassion towards the victims of rape or victims of so-called “honor killings”. As for intertextuality, Roya TV quotes literary and legal texts to confirm that Jordanian media remains sympathetic to the "patriarchal system" and reproduces "patriarchal discourse".
Conclusions: Jordanian media discourse does not delve into the common assumption of the underlying relationship between honor and virginity, but rather focuses on other topics, such as legal aspects and the rule of law, and that both sides of the felony must receive punishment, while failing to criticizise the basic principle behind honor killings.
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Appendix: media materials
Hiber 1. Free Jordanian Voices: "Honor Crimes”, 1 April 2010, https://www.7iber.com/2010/04.
Hiber 2. Honor killings in the Jordanian media, Ebtihal Mahadeen,2 April 2015, https://www.7iber.com/2015/04/
Hiber 3. In the name of honor, violations of women's rights, 24 February 2015, https://www.7iber.com/2015/02/5
Hiber 4. Under the pretext of "honor": after the crime, Rimaz Musaa, 9 December 2014, https://www.7iber.com/2014/12/9
Hiber 5. About a society that makes criminals, Nadin Alnamrii, 19 May 2016, https://www.7iber.com/society14
Hiber 6. Rape and Marry: Systematic Discrimination against Women in Jordanian Laws and Customs, Ebtihal Mahadeen, 26 April 2012,
Hiber 7. Why drop the personal right in particular? 24 December 2013, https://www.7iber.com/2013/12/23
Khaberni 1. He killed his sister because she was absent from home, 13 November 2013,https://www.khaberni.com/news/2.
Khaberni 2. Attribution of charges to the killer of Noor Al-Awadt, 8 January 2014, https://www.khaberni.com/news/5.
Khaberni 3. Juvenile kills his sister in Al-Muwaqqar, 18 October 2015, https://www.khaberni.com/news/10.
Khaberni 4. 4 Murders against women in a week in Jordan, 9 October 2016, https://www.khaberni.com/news/13.
Khaberni 5. A young man stabs his sister in Juwaideh, 17 November 2016, https://www.khaberni.com/news/16.
Khaberni 6. A young man kills his sister in Al-Balqa, 11 August 2017, https://www.khaberni.com/news/18.
Khaberni 7. Jordanian escapes from the gallows, 29 December 2019, https://www.khaberni.com/news/18.
Khaberni 8. Death penalty for his sister's killer in Amman, 28 May 2019, https://www.khaberni.com/news/22.
Roya Tv. 1, Nabdul Balad, Honour killings and Article 308 of the Jordanian Penal Code, 16 November 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFfHjg5q_0s.
Roya Tv. 2, Dr. Hussein Mahadin and Anaam Al-Ashi - Honour killings, Nabdul Balad, 19 October 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XZQQvDZcdQ.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Dirasat: Human and Social Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Accepted 2024-08-05
Published 2025-07-01
