A Gaza teen stabbed to death by her brother while she prayed in her room has become the latest addition to a grim statistic: Palestinian women killed by relatives, often for allegedly shaming the family.
The rise stems from ongoing leniency for those killing in the name of "family honor" and social acceptance of violence against women, women's rights activists said Wednesday.
They urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to repeal sections of a penal code that allows for short sentences of at most a few years for the perpetrators. Abbas suspended one article of the code in 2011, but others remain on the books, said Hanan Ashrawi, a senior PLO official and former legislator.
Ashrawi said she repeatedly has urged Abbas to adopt legal reforms, especially of articles that discriminate against women, but so far to no avail. She said she last met with Abbas in November, but that he referred the matter again to his legal adviser.
She said that male politicians often brush aside women's concerns, with the argument that more important issues are at stake, such as ending Israeli occupation and establishing a Palestinian state.
Ashrawi said archaic laws harming women also undercut Palestinian aspirations. "We are fighting for freedom and human dignity," she said. "How can you deprive women of all these things?"
Abbas aides, including his adviser on legal affairs, did not return requests for comment.
