An "Honor" Killing?

In what is not an entirely rare occurrence in his country, a Jordanian man has killed his daughter simply because he suspected she was not a virgin, despite a medical examination that proved she was. After surrendering himself to police, the man described his actions as preserving his family's "honor". An autopsy later performed showed that she was still a virgin at her death.

Honor? Where is the honor in killing one's own child who should be loved, protected, and honored herself? Where is the honor in valuing what other people think of one's family over one's family itself?

This is but another example of the sick mentality that demonizes sex, that denies human nature and twists what a normal and natural part of life into something perverted. Some people say that any kind of sex that exists outside of a legal marriage is perverted. I say they're wrong; it's repressing sex that leads to incidents like this that is truly perverted.

What's so special about virginity for women, anyway? Virginity as a virtue actually originally stems from strictly practical reasons, rather than religious ones. In ancient societies that had begun living in settled communities where people acquired large amounts of property and possessions, the practice of inheritance came about. A man wanted to know which children were actually his, so that he'd not mistakenly leave his property to children he'd not actually sired. So, regulating the sexuality of women came into being, including virginity for unmarried women. In other words, the virtue of virginity is directly related to the value of money. Hardly anything spiritual or sacred here, though the religions of the time soon added these requirements, effectively given the originally secular practice the force of law.

Nowadays, with DNA paternity tests, the original justification for regulating women's sexuality no longer exists. Nevertheless, the attitudes continue, because the origins of these practices are shrouded in myth, inseparable from religion to many people. But, when you get right down to it, this man killed his daughter because of a practice that values money over people. And where is the honor in that?

Thoughts?