Honour-related violence and oppression are based on strongly patriarchal notions and carried out collectively (e.g. by a family) to preserve or reinstate honour that has been questioned or insulted. The purpose of this study is to explore how youths who live in a community where honour norms are present but have not necessarily experienced honour-related violence and oppression themselves, negotiate the concept of honour.
The article belongs to linguistic interaction studies focusing on negotiation of concepts and is based on focus group interviews with 14 youths. The conclusion is that youths agree upon certain commands (such as to defend one’s family) and constraints (such as to not have a boyfriend/girlfriend). However, the youths disagree about how honour is linked to gender (regarding how severely girls and boys are disciplined), religion, and tradition. It is argued that this new knowledge on how youths negotiate and understand the concept of honour provides a valuable key to understanding the rationalities and logics behind the community’s upholding or questioning traditions.