​ Blog Essay

When I began to figure out what topic I wanted to do, I chose Honor Killings because I

found it interesting how other cultures are so different than the culture I grew up in and the

different set of rules each of us have to follow based on the different beliefs. To begin with, I

gathered my evidence through different sources such as, YouTube videos, a variety of articles

based on different stories about honor killings, interviews online, and a book called “ A girl in

the River’’ that was based on a true story. I took out some of the main points from each source

and connected it with each of them since they all related to each other. In addition, I looked for

pictures that also related to the articles and some videos that showcased the variety of cases that

happened recently to innocent women in different parts of the world.

Furthermore, when it was time to create my first website based on the topic I chose for

my essay I wanted to mainly focus on why it happens and where it happens, so I created five tabs

that each represent different parts of my essay and go into further detail of what I didn’t explain

in my essay. On the homepage I didn’t have anything on there, so I just left it blank , but for my

first tab I titled it as “The Crisis” and on this tab it briefly explains the definition of what honor

killings are and my thesis from my essay. I also inputted a quick fact of the few reasons why

women are killed by any men from their family. If a woman is somehow disrespecting a male or

doing something that they don’t like their punishment is death with no hesitations. The males

need to protect their image as a man in their family. For the second tab I titled it as “Regions

Impacted” and the main regions that are impacted are; South Asia, The Middle East, and The

United States. It’s still quite surprising that it is happening in the United States because I

personally never thought it would happen here since I hardly see any families that may be in that
culture. I briefly talked about what happens in each of those regions and the different

consequences they each have towards women. In the third tab I talked about the victims which

are all women who are a part of this culture, so many of these women have strict regulations by

their husbands that they must follow and if they don’t they are killed for dishonoring the family.

Many of the effects that this action has on these women is crucial because they suffer from

depression, are scared for their lives everyday, suffer from anxiety, and most have suicidal

thoughts. Lastly, many women have come together to protest against this action to stop honor

killings and to protect all women who are still the victims and get them the help they need.

The revisions I made to my second website was mainly on my homepage to catch the

viewers attention since it did look plain, so I inputted four pictures that represents what honor

killings are and the victims. I also added a link to an organization that helps out women that are

in need of assistance if they were a part of this action. I also added a quote of a woman named

Khaled Hisma saying, “ Killing females in the name of honor expresses a despotic society

dominated by arbitrary culture.’’ In one of my tabs my peer suggested to put a picture at the top

of the page so it can look better rather than leaving it at the bottom where it can’t be seen.

A website and an essay are similar and different in many ways, they are similar because

they each need to consist of one topic and the tabs of the website represents a paragraph in an

essay. The homepage is the introduction to the essays and both can include pictures and videos to

engage the viewer more. Each source must be cited in which where it was found. They are

different because on a website it isn’t strict formatted which one can write what they feel in

terms of expressing what they think about the topic, but on an essay one must follow a strict

format guideline or it’ll be incorrect. There are no limitations towards what you write on your
website or how many tabs there must be, but on essay there is a limitation towards how much the

writer needs to write. On an essay the writer is not permitted to use any slang it must be formal

language in which the reader can understand, but on a website the writer can use some slang to a

full extend relating to the topic to make it their own. Lastly, on a website there is more

expression where the audience can easily connect with the topic and have more emotion towards

it since there is more graphic pictures of the topic the audience has more of a clear view of what

the topic is really about.

Throughout creating this website I have learned so much more about my topic and how to

create a website and creating my first blog. I have learned to edit and make my website my own

that represent honor killings. I still have a few more things to learn when it comes to technology

and creating projects online. Although it was quite challenging for me in the beginning it was

helpful learning something new. I hope to become better in the future with these types of projects

because it was different and fun for me to create.