A girl is like a glass plate

Sirhan Abdulla's 16-year-old sister Yasmine was a victim of rape. This brought unbearable shame to the family.

Am I the only one who cannot even begin to grasp how a girl's rape would shame a family? Maybe they are ashamed that she was inadequately protected. Maybe they feel horrible that they were not there for her and desperately want to become stronger to protect their remaining daughters. But nooooooo

'We were in hell,' recalled Abdulla. 'It was like we were being turned on a spit. My father got diabetes from the stress. My mother got diabetes from the stress. It was all because of this problem.' As news spread through the community, Yasmine knew she faced certain death. With no safe place to go, police placed her into protective custody. And nearly a month later, she was released to her father. But only after he signed a written guarantee that no harm would come to her.
How soon after her release was Yasmine murdered, her brother was asked? 'After 15 minutes I shot her,' said brother Sirhan Abdulla, adding that he shot her four times in the head. Abdulla served just six months for killing his sister Yasmine. When asked if that was a fair sentence, Abdulla replied no. 'I shouldn't have been in prison for a minute.'
In 2000, a bill was introduced in the Jordanian parliament that would toughen the punishment for honor crimes. It was soundly defeated. 'You have to put limits to the society,' said parliament member Salameh Hiyari, who voted against the bill. Abdulla said he doesn't think about his sister. 'A girl is like a glass plate. Take a glass plate and throw it on the floor and it breaks. Would it be any use anymore or not? A girl is just like that. If she has been violated, she's finished.'"