Ninety percent of honor killings worldwide are done by Muslims.
Common motives for these killings can be summarize as disobedient behaviors to Islamic rules.
Such as a girl who refused to wear turban / hijab
it can be the a girl who left the house on her own, even to go to grocery store or cinema without a permission from men
it can be a girl who was seeing—or merely suspected of seeing, or could be just gossip about —some boy
it can be a girl refused to accept an arranged marriage or desiring to marry by own choice
it can be a girl decline the offer of an arranged marriage with an older man
it can be a woman who is engaging in certain sexual acts, having a relationship with a male
it can be a woman accused of having sexual relations with another man before she married
it can be a woman seeking a divorce
it can be a woman who got pregnant as a result of rape
it can be a girl who wears tight clothes otherwise dressed ‘un-Islamically’
it can be a girl who talks to a man, or dating somebody
it can be a girl who lost of her virginity before the marriage
it can be a girl, who, in some way, was disobedient to the family, most the time her male family members.
According to police reports between 2000 to 2006, 480 women murdered in the name of ‘honour’. Their ages between 19-25. A research shows every year about 200 woman are murdered in Turkey. According to government figures, there are more than 200 a year – half of all the murders committed in the country.

An honor killing or ‘a customary killing’ is the murder of a family or clan member by one or more fellow, in most cases by male family members. So family encourage a family member ( usually a male like adolescent boys are chosen by the family since they get shorter sentences in the court of law for homicide ) to kill the girl to remove the blemish from their honor.

Therefore woman’s fate is often decided during a “family council”, when the extended family meets to discuss breaches of honour. Generally, in these meetings, it is agreed how the victim must be killed.
Majority of honour killings happen in (East and Southeast Anatolia) where the Kurdish population dominant. These rural areas, villages are ruled under a strict feudal, patriarchal system and force women to behave very conservatively.

Skyrocketing violent crimes in Turkey against women
Honor killing and so-called suicide rates have since skyrocketed last seven years. Murdering women striking number between 2002 and 2009 is 4063. The exact rate of such honor killings is not known; however, experts have estimated that violent rate went up 1400% against women.
There is a strong correlation between Islamic religion and feudal life style. The practice of honor killings is largely rooted in patriarchal structures, ignorance and religion.
We see more uneducated and religious people accept these crimes as natural punishments.
It became acceptable tradition honor killings in rural areas.
It is OK to check virginity of a girl through an intact hymen that bleeds on the wedding night. If she is not virgin, she should be punish heavily.
Here some of these unjust traditions;
Teaching double moral and sexual standards to children.
It seems like woman’s morality limited between her legs.
Girls should protected their virginity.
Women’s chastity is very important.
Girls do not have go to school as much as boys.
It is acceptable polygamy for men, like having ‘kuma’ wives.
Unfortunately the government legitimizes these crimes by deeming them “family problems” or “domestic situations.”
So what is next then the stoning of sinful women?

Reference : respublica.dk
“Although there are no special clauses in the Murder Section of the Criminal Code referring to the “defence of honour”, the honor factor as an excuse of defense is widely cited in the reasoning process of the Judges in 200 cases I collected from 4 different cities. Whether it is premeditated or not, the executions are usually viewed with great leniency, in other words the whole system grants impunity to men committing such crimes. I also found that substantial number of marriages conducted thorough Berdel . Berdel, which is the exchange of young girls between families instead of dowry.”

In Turkish

“2000-2006 yılları arasında yaşanan olaylardan elde edilen polis kayıtlarına göre, beşte biri 19 ile 25 yaşları arasında 480 kadın namus cinayetine kurban gitti. Ancak kadın hakları gruplarının beş yıl önce yaptığı bir araştırma her yıl en az 200 kadın ve kızın namus için öldürüldüğüne işaret ediyor.”

Son yedi yılda 4 bin 63 kadın öldürüldü. Töre ve namus cinayeti yedi yılda yüzde 1400 arttı.
2002 yılından Temmuz 2009’a kadar kadınlara yönelik işlenen şiddet ve cinayetlere ilişkin istatistiklere de yer verdi. Buna göre töre ve namus gerekçesiyle 2002 yılında 66 kadın cinayeti işlenmişti. Sadece 2009 yılının ilk yedi ayında işlenen kadın cinayeti sayısıysa 953 oldu.
Yıllar itibarıyla işlenen kadın cinayetlerinin sayısı şöyle: 2002’de 66. 2003’te 83, 2005’te 164, 2005’de 317, 2006’da 663, 2007’de 1011, 2008’de 806 ve ‘2009’un yedi ayında 953.

Referans: Radikal Gazetesi