In many parts of the world, a family's honor comes first and foremost to those of the household. This is nothing new, and in most cases, is nothing serious. You'd be hard pressed to find a family in any corner of the world where respect for the family isn't an important aspect of life. However, in some cultures, the family's honor can be taken a bit (to say the least) too far. In India, the practice of ironically named "honor killings" are not unheard of. In these cases, a member of the family-- typically female-- have caused some form of dishonor to the family, and the family then takes it upon themselves to rid the family of shame by killing the guilty member involved. In most cases, this would include refusing an arranged marriage, having sex outside of marriage, or even becoming the victim of rape. Men have also become the victim of honor killings, usually because they have come out to their families as homosexual. For Bhavna Yadav of India, she incited the wrath of her parents by marrying a man outside of her family's caste system. Her parents, after hearing of her marriage, begged her to return home to "sort out their differences." When Bhavna returned home, however, she was beaten and strangled to death by her father and uncle. Her parents then took her body and burned it. Honor killings, most present in southern Asia and the Middle East, are illegal and highly protested against in the modern age. Bhavna's parents were arrested after confessing to the crime and are under investigation. Though they view their act as an "honor killing," they will be tried for what it truly is: murder.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2842444/New-honour-killing-murder-shocks-India-bride-s-father-allegedly-strangles-burns-body-days-marrying-man-wrong-caste.html
