“Honor killing”----- The victory of superego over instinctive id

Is there any relevance of honor killing to modern civilized society? Is there any place for honor killing in our daily lives? Is honor killing limited to Islamic countries? Is it perverted form of tribalism? Scholars have tried to interpret this barbaric act from different aspects and angles. All these explanations seem very superficial not touching the main thread or roots. The roots of honor killing are not outside in tribalism or social set up or any such phenomenon but in one’s own psyche. Human psyche is wonderful phenomena. Behavior is the only guide and key to understand human psyche. Other than behavior of man we have no vehicle or transportation to communicate with the “ocean of unconscious” or the “darkened dense jungle infested with wild unseen animals.” of human existence. Our awakening behavior or consciousness’ is very fractional part of our total consciousness. We know nothing of our unconscious process taking place interrupted in our unconscious mind or in the background of our mind. The only easy access we have to this dark and hidden side of human behavior is through the study and analysis of his/her behavior and dreams. Honor killing is very abnormal behavior. Why this happens? Why a son kills his own sister or father kills his own daughter for the restoration of his family honor? What is family honor? Is the honor of family restored after the killing event? Human mind is composed of paradoxical and opposing forces. There is constant conflict in our mind. Human mind is battle field where there is constant struggle and fighting. We are not conscious of this fighting process. And can never be. It is fact that man has evolved from animal life. Darwin has confirmed that monkeys and primates are our ancestors. Man is also considered by many sociologists as social being or animal. Man is both man as well as animal. Man is man because of his intellect which the animals totally lack. Animals have instincts not intellect. Animal is guided and motivated by his natural instincts. It may be said that they have instinctive mind. Man has also instinctive mind. This instinctive mind is constantly in conflict with his intellectual mind or ego. There is another level of consciousness that has been called “superego” by Sigmund Freud. The position of ego is intermediately between id and superego. Its feet are in id but head is in superego. Id is most primitive, the tribal part of human existence, personality and psyche. It is store house of biologically based urges. The id operates what Freud calls pleasure principle. It has nothing to do with strict rules / morals and codes of ethics, society and religions. Id is bridled and managed by ego—the self conscious, a unique quality of human life and existence. The ego channels the urges into more socially accepted norms and outlets. The level of superego roughly corresponds to what we call conscience. It mainly consists of inhibitions, prohibitions, taboos, learned and acquired from parents and religions and religious scriptures. Id, ego and superego are not entirely different entities but there is wonderful interplay among them. Ego acts as a sort of mediator between id—with its blind demands and urges for instant gratification and the superego—with its rigid frame work of rational rules, codes, ethics, taboos , prohibitions, ideals and all forbidden things. The self honor, family honor, Self respect, Family dignity, shame is super ego concept. Honor and shame are the part of superego. The sister or family here in honor killing cases is not a different entity but the integral part of the personality of killer. Sister adds another dimension to his own personality and psyche. For father the daughter is another dimension of his own personality. The sister yielding to or surrendering to instinctive desires and urges is actually nothing but his own instinctive self in disguised form. You must have seen that mostly the subject of honor killing is either “love or sex.” Honor killing is just like self suicide. I call it suicidal act perpetrated by the killer. The superego, in the form of “shame, honor and respect” is so disturbed and overwhelms the victim like a “demoniac possession”, making the killer (him or her) so anxious, restless and desperate that he can only rest or come into equilibrium by killing his own instinctive self .i.e. the sister. The families in which honor killings happen are strongly guided by strong sense of dichotomy of right/ wrong, upright/ up wrong and piousness/ dirtiness, good/ bad etc. This dichotomy is itself is representative of primordial conflict of id and superego. These families are mostly sexually tabooed families with strong sense of moral and ethical background. You will find many obsessions in such families. In conclusion it may be said that honor killings are nothing but victory of superego over the dark side of one’s personality. But it is not real victory; it is only false perception of victory, or disguised victory it may be called. The suppressed and repressed instinctive urges are not defeated at all but are getting ready in unconscious of perpetrator of barbaric act to unfold themselves in more cancerous and grave forms of anxiety, anxiety –neurosis, and obsessions of many kinds. These will be expressed in future life of the killer.