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based violence. According to Papp 2010 honour killing was an ancient practice in which men murder female relatives in the name of family “honour” for forced
or suspected sexual activity outside the marriage, even when the women have been victims of rape. Each year, male family members murder thousands of girls
and women across the globe in the name of family honour and shame. A girl was expected to protect her virginity before marriage as well as protecting her
reputation from gossip and rumours after she was married. In India and Pakistan, every family had to protect their daughter. They prefer to kill their daughter rather
than live in shame. Any gossip or rumours about their bad behavior will be detrimental to their marriage prospects. Girls‟ primary function was to marry well
and bound by duty. They were to be self-sacrificing wives, providing services and producing sons for their husband. The transfer of a woman, like property, from
her father‟s control to her husband‟s, combined with the belief that her destiny is duty to her husband. The potential husbands were chosen by their family. The
occurence of rape and other forms of violence in a marriage made it more difficult for women to reveal abuse. It led the number of forced marriages increase day by
day. Therefore, gender inequality covered patriarchal power and domestic abuse.
a. Fighting against Patriarchal Power
Napikoski 2012 defined patriarchal as a general structure in which men have power over women. Society is the entirety of relations of a community.
A patriarchal society consists of a male-dominated power structure throughout
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organized society and in individual relationships. Pilcher 2004 stated patriarchy means rule by the male head of a social unit a family or tribe.
In Jasvinder Sanghera‟s Daughters of Shame, most of the women are controlled by the power of men especially the eldest male of the family who used
their power to their own advantages. Jasvinder‟s client, Sanah, had an elder sister named Raveeda. She was eighteen and really did not want to marry. She was
forced into an unwanted marriage by her father. She could not escape until the wedding time came. On her first night, she was raped by her husband. She was
frightened and she told her father. Unfortunately, her father said that it was not rape but it was a husband
‟s right. Sanah did not want to go through that. She looked for protection from Jasvinder. Jasvinder gave her her number and she said
that Sanah could call her whenever she needed. The next was Kiren. She needed help from Jasvinder and Karma Nirvana.
Kiren‟s stepfather was determined to domesticate her. Kiren had to do all the housework and if she refused he would beat her and lock her in her room.
She felt she was walking on eggshells. Her stepfather was determined to domesticate her so, while all her school friends went home to do their
coursework or watch television or text each other, Kiren had to do all the housework and then cook the family‟s evening meal. If she refused he
would beat her and then lock her in her room. Once he punched her so hard that she couldn‟t open her mouth properly for two weeks. Sanghera
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Kiren could run away successfully. She needed more protection. Her step father had looked for her. If he found her, he would kill her. In that situation,
she could not look for other help except Karma Nirvana. Jasvinder suggested to her to dial 999 if bad things happened for the first help.
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Her voice cracked and I heard her gulping in air, struggling to regain control. „Don‟t let them take me home, Jasvinder. You said they‟d help
me. My stepdad will kill me if he sees me, I know he will. He said if I tried to run
away he‟d kill me and dump my body somewhere no one ever find it. They won‟t fucking believe me. You‟ve got to help me, Jasvinder.
Please.‟ Sanghera 47
Jasvinder helped to protect Shabana from her father. Shabana‟s father liked to punch her face, tried to strangle her, scratched her, kicked her and pulled
her hair. She was forced to marry a white man named John Henderson, but she did not want to. Shabana could escape and meet Jasvinder. But, she still needed a
refuge. She was afraid of her father. Her father cut out a newspaper article describing an honour killing and left
in on her bed. Imagine living with those threats, getting up each day to face such hostility; I wasn‟t surprised when, in her emails, she started
talking about suicide. I suddenly felt choked by worry her. I sent a text, asking when I could ring; I needed to reassure myself that she was still
there, still safe Sanghera 107
Jasvinder also helped Surjit by listening to Surjit‟s painful story. When Surjit was seven, she was taken to India to learn what she called Indian system.
She was chaperoned to and from school by her father and brother. It was her father‟s, brother‟s and male cousins‟ duty to watch and check how she was
behaving all the time. Her father told her that everything she did at the time would determine
her marriage prospects. Surjit‟s mother also lived under the male domination and she had no choice for not torturing her daughter.
The day of Surjit‟s first menstrual period arrived when she was thirteen and she ran to her mother asking her what was happening. The response
changed her life forever. Her mother threw a sanitary towel at her and
shouted, „Now you‟re a woman not a girl, behave like one and don‟t shame us.‟ Sanghera 190
