The role of the LAHA initiative will be to network young activists, both male and female, who want to promote grassroots reform. LAHA’s core founding members come from Jordan, Syria, and Egypt, and the project hopes to attract a regional following.

One of the main issues that LAHA targets is so-called “honor killings,” where male family members “rid their families of shame” by killing a female relative whom they feel has “dishonored” their family. The problem is not simply social attitudes in some families. Courts in countries like Jordan and Syria routinely give light punishments to men who kill their female relatives. Murderers are often given only brief jail terms because judges claim to understand the motivation behind the killing.