“A Regular Woman” portrays the fate of Hatun Ayhrun Sürücü, a German woman of Turkish descent, and her struggle for a free, self-determined life in the face of her family’s opposition.
Hatun “Aynur” Sürücü (Almila Bağrıaçık) was shot and killed by her own brother in an honor killing at the age of 23. After a forced marriage to her cousin at 16, Aynur decides to leave him because of the constant domestic abuse. Pregnant and begging her parents to allow her to come back home, she becomes shamed by her community and eventually by her own family. With no privacy or room for herself and her child, her brothers tell her to obey, return to her husband and stop bringing shame to the family.
Against their culture and Muslim beliefs, Aynur eventually moves out and into a home for underage mothers where they help her get back in school and eventually get her own apartment. Her newfound freedom and Western lifestyle is forbidden and is seen as scandalous and dishonorable. There are many reasons a woman can become the victim of an honor killing. Expressing your own mind is one of them; this is not allowed. Being disobedient is another thing that is shunned, and if you have a failed marriage you are not allowed to go to school or leave the house alone, and abandoning your family traditions is seen as the ultimate betrayal.
Aynur seemed to have broken all of the rules, starting with showing her hair in public, instead of covering it like the woman are taught; going back to school, smoking, hanging out in night clubs with friends, and falling in love with a German man named Tim (Jacob Matschenz). Her family gets news of her new life and the brothers begin calling her obsessively with obscene language and threatening her to change or suffer the consequences. Aynur desperately wants her family to accept her as she does not take the threats seriously until they become unbearable. After informing the police, they tell her there is nothing they can do if there is no bodily harm done.
This film gave me chills because honor killings and violence against women are a global issue. This practice is still happening in many countries around the world including those in South Asia and the Middle East. When the family suspects the woman is engaging in any behavior that could tarnish the honor of the family, they feel she must be killed. Supposedly, over 5,000 women and girls are murdered by their families each year in honor killings. I do hope this movie brings awareness to the issue concerning violence against women and spark change. Her youngest brother was arrested for the shooting but the other two were released without evidence of assisting in the crime. A must see film! For more information on honor killings please click the link below.
https://www.amnestyusa.org/the-horror-of-honor-killings-even-in-us/
“A Regular Woman” recently premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival
