When Pride Becomes Immoral: The Case of Honor-based Violence
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: To The Editor, Discussions around ‘honour’ - related violence have gained prominence in recent years within India. The most striking feature of honour-based violence – and the fact that it demands scientific investigation – is that the perpetrators are not cognizant of the fact that they are committing a crime in the veil of safeguarding their honour. Such crimes should not be considered isolated practices, but as embedded in a self-sustaining vicious social system employed in maintaining superficial ideas of honour and prestige. In studying the issues related to honour-based violence, substantial research has concentrated on the functions of negative self-conscious emotions such as shame, embarrassment and guilt in response to the perceived threat to honour systems.[1,2] A potential contributing factor to the maintenance and perpetuation of honour-related values that has remained underexplored is collective pride. Members of a particular social group can experience pride at a collective level in their group’s achievements, much like how individuals feel pride for their actions or behaviour.[3] Although pride is often associated with positive emotions such as joy, happiness and elation, it does not exclusively encourage positive behaviours. In fact, pride does not inherently possess any qualities that make it moral by default.[4] As long as, a person engages in an act that raises their self-worth or self-satisfaction, they are likely to feel proud, irrespective of whether those acts are moral or immoral. Collective pride, too, is the result of the attainment of desirable and valuable, although not necessarily moral, societal standards. One could argue that a group that exhibits high collective pride will subsequently become deeply engrossed in issues related to honour. A group’s preoccupation with its recognition and reputation in society is reflected in its collective sense of pride, which, in its extreme sense, may move people towards unacceptable behaviours and actions for attesting to their self-worth when it is under threat. A strong sense of pride in a group’s social worth can intensify the desire to protect its honour, sometimes resulting in more forceful responses to perceived norm violations. A comprehensive understanding of the psycho-emotional predictors of honour-based violence is necessary due to the rising number of such cases in India. The understanding is also crucial to inform the development of culturally sensitive interventions and policies, as containing violence is of utmost importance for imagining a thriving and well-functioning society. Sincerely, Iram Fatima Financial support and sponsorship Nil. Conflicts of interest There are no conflicts of interest.
Author: Iram Fatima
Institution: Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4411745167