Honour Killings and Violence against Women - How can this happen

While I am of the opinion that it is best for everyone in the world to accept and respect differences between cultures including belief systems and practices ... however there are just some as much as I try I can't and some that I just belief are completely wrong and should be stopped. One of these is Honour Killings.

Today I was reading an article in the SMH with the title "Girl buried alive by her father and grandfather for befriending boys" . This appears to be such a terrible story. A 16 year old girl that "never went to school and perhaps barely knew how to read and write", Muhammed Cevik, who owns the local Kahta newspaper, was found in a sitting position with her hands tied, in a hole in a chicken pen outside her house in Kahta town, Adiyaman province, 40 days after she went missing. A post-mortem examination showed a significant amount of soil in her lungs and stomach, meaning she was buried alive, forensic experts have said.

It is believed that this is a honour killing. What is honour killing? According to Human Rights Watch Honor (as found on Wikipedia) crimes are acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members against female family members, who are held to have brought dishonor upon the family. A woman can be targeted by (individuals within) her family for a variety of reasons, including: refusing to enter into an arranged marriage, being the victim of a sexual assault, seeking a divorce—even from an abusive husband—or (allegedly) committing adultery. The mere perception that a woman has behaved in a way that "dishonors" her family is sufficient to trigger an attack on her life.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that the annual worldwide total of honor-killing victims may be as high as 5,000

I find it hard to believe that this happens in today world ... but I am reminded that violence against women happens around the world.

Honour Killings and Violence against Women are just wrong .. not matter who does it or where it happens.

Wikipedia - Honour Killings - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor_killing
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) - A Human Rights and Health Priority - http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2000/english/ch03.html
Amensty International - Harmful Practices - http://www.amnesty.org.au/svaw/comments/2371/
SMH - Girl buried alive by her father and grandfather for befriending boys - http://www.smh.com.au/world/girl-buried-alive-by-her-father-and-grandfather-for-befriending-boys-police-20100209-nnlp.html