American sisters Amina and Sarah Said were killed by their father, Yaser Said, in 2008 in what investigators called an “honor killing.”
This story, along with several others, is part of an award-winning documentary titled “The Price of Honor,” to be shown at the Hinckley Institute of Politics on Oct. 24 at 6 p.m.
Internationally, more than 5,000 honor killings are perpetrated each year. This occurs when a family or community subjects someone, most often a woman, to violence in order to restore honor that was lost to them by the person’s actions (which could include falling in love with someone not approved of by his/her parents).
Six documented honor killings have occurred in the United States, all of which were against Muslim women. The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the killings.
“Like everyone else, we regret the senseless killing of Amina and Sarah Said,” said Ahmed Alsaleem, spokesperson for the U’s Muslim Student Association.
After the premiere of “The Price of Honor” in 2014, Yaser Said was placed on the FBI’s top ten most wanted list. The documentary won both the Humanitarian Award and the Documentary Feature Award.
Amy Logan, the consulting producer of the film and author of the book upon which the documentary is based, will hold a Q&A after the Hinckley’s showing of the movie. She will also be signing her new book The Seven Perfumes of Sacrifice about the history of honor killings.
“Honor killings are wrong, and by watching this film I can learn about the reasons behind them,” said Angela Dhungana, a sophomore in biomedical engineering.
Tickets for the event, cohosted by the U.S. National Committee for UN Women Utah chapter, can be purchased online at priceofhonor.peatix.com.
@emilyinorgandy