Honour Killing by Imtiaz Dharker: GCSE

Honour Killing by Imtiaz Dharker
In Lahore, in the last year of the twentieth century, 
A woman was shot by her family in her lawyer’s office. 
Her crime was that she had asked for a divorce. 
The whole Pakistan Senate refused to condemn the act. 
They called it an honour killing.

At last I'm taking off this coat,
this black coat of a country
that I swore for years was mine,
that I wore more out of habit
than design.
Born wearing it,
I believed I had no choice.

I'm taking off this veil,
this black veil of a faith
that made me faithless
to myself,
that tied my mouth,
gave my god a devil's face,
and muffled my own voice.

I'm taking off these silks,
these lacy things
that feed dictator dreams,
the mangalsutra and the rings
rattling in a tin cup of needs
that beggared me.

I'm taking off this skin,
and then the face, the flesh,
the womb.

Let's see
what I am in here
when I squeeze past
the easy cage of bone.

Let's see
what I am out here,
making, crafting,
plotting
at my new geography.

Watch Imtiaz Dharker performing her poem here

Context:
What is an honour killing? Wikipedia says:

'An honour killing or a shame killing is the homicide of a member of a family, due to the perpetrators' belief that the victim has brought shame or dishonour upon the family, or has violated the principles of a community or a religion, usually for reasons such as refusing to enter an arranged marriage, being in a relationship that is disapproved by their family, having sex outside marriage, dressing in ways which are deemed inappropriate, engaging in non-heterosexual relations or renouncing a faith.'

Meaning:
In this poem, a muslim woman is escaping the repression of her clothing, her religion and her country. She is attempting to make a new life for herself. The title turns the existing meaning of 'honour killing' around to show that she has been dishonoured by others.
Form and structure: 
The poem is presented in six stanzas of free verse, following the patterns of speech and using one sentence per stanza, although the first stanza has two sentences. The stanzas decrease in length and then increase to show that she is being made less of a person by the restrictions of her past but then she makes the decision to express her freedom and establish herself.
The repetition of 'that' in the first three stanzas introduces the negative, oppressive story of the narrator. The repetition of 'I'm taking...' at the start of the first four stanzas introduces her action to solve the problem.  
Language:
Stanza 1
  • 'At last' begins the poem with relief and hope: the reader realises that something is changing after a long time of endurance and repression
  • The noun 'country' signifies nationality and allegiance, linking with 'I swore' and 'habit' to show an unquestioning obedience to its demands of her
  • 'born wearing it' is a metaphor to show the reader how closely linked her 'coat' is to her identity
Stanza 2
  • 'this black veil of a faith' - we associate black coverings for women with Islam but the poet presents this as a negative barrier to freedom
  • 'gave my god a devil's face' opposite meanings together give a strong contrast between right and wrong
  • 'made me faithless to myself' - this image applies the idea of 'cheating' by saying that the poet's belief system made her betray herself as a woman
Stanza 3
  • Imagery of 'silks' and 'lacy things' describe revealing clothes on a woman - the opposite of being covered with a black coat or veil. The reader wonders why she is wearing these things - perhaps men in her culture demand that she wears those too.
  • The alliteration of 'd' sounds in 'feed dictator dreams' help the reader to hear the aggressive bite in her tone of voice when she talks about corrupt, lustful and powerful men who might want women for their own pleasure
  • Imagery of being homeless and impoverished using words like 'tin cup', 'needs' and 'beggared me' makes the reader realise that she has had everything taken away from her
Stanza 4
  • So much has been taken away that we are now down to the poet's body. 'skin'...'face'...'flesh' - which makes the reader realise how she has nothing left
  • When she says that she's taken off her 'womb', the reader realises that she doesn't want to be fertile. She doesn't want to give birth to girls who might experience the same treatment as her
Stanza 5
  • 'Let's see' engages the reader in dialogue, perhaps revealing internal thought, intimately considering her future, drawing us in
  • 'in here' contrasts with 'out here' in the next stanza. She is considering her new identity and the reader thinks about how she changes the way she thinks about herself and about her place in the world
  • The image of squeezing 'past the easy cage of bone' makes the reader imagine that she has reduced herself to nothing so that she can escape from her own body
Stanza 6
  • The present continuous tense of the verbs 'making, crafting, plotting' show that she is unstoppable, continuing to create a place for herself even beyond the end of the poem.
  • 'at my new geography' makes the reader realise that this woman has probably moved away from the repressive country that forced her to live like that. 
Revision questions:

1. What can you find out about the poet? Does her background help you to understand why she wrote this poem?
2. How does the poet change the meaning of the title 'Honour Killing' during the course of this poem?
3. Choose another poem in the 'conflict' cluster that considers ideas about freedom and imprisonment. Compare how the poets use language and structure to have an impact on the reader.

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