forced marriage

Tunisians protest in solidarity with 13-year-old who was burned to death in honor killing

A Tunisian man has been accused of burning his 13-year-old daughter on 28 May in the Tunis suburb of Cite Ibn Khaldoun because she was walking home from school with a male class mate. The young girl named Aya succumbed to the fourth-degree burn wounds on 7 June after a nine-days-fight in hospital. The incident has .. read more

Pakistani woman killed by the man she asked to save her from family’s ‘honour killing’

Boyfriend of Muzammil Bibi arrested after admitting murdering her, when she asked to run away from her family The cover-up fooled no one. Muzammil Bibi was found slumped under a tree, in what was intended to look like suicide. Police said the 21-year-old had been raped and strangled before the killers looped her scarf around .. read more

UK makes forced marriage criminal act

A new law in England and Wales criminalises forced marriages and may send offenders to prison for up to seven years. A new law criminalising forced marriages in England and Wales has been welcomed by campaigners and human rights groups. The law, which took effect on Monday, carries a jail sentence of up to seven .. read more

Forced marriage: the survivors’ tales

Every year thousands of British girls are spirited abroad to marry men they’ve never met. Sally Howard reveals the shocking truth about forced marriage in 21st century Britain “Our typical caller is a 13- to 18-year-old girl,” says Jasvinder Sanghera. “She’s bright, likes school and behaves like a normal British adolescent. Suddenly, she’s noticed a .. read more

How can we stop honour killings?

Disturbing cases of extreme violence against women from around the world have come to the fore in the past few weeks. Farzana Parveen’s murder in Pakistan highlighted the country’s dismal record of women killed in so-called honour killings. According to the Pakistani Human Rights Commission, 869 women were murdered in 2013 in what were said to be “honour .. read more

Three held for ‘honour killing’ in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, June 23 (IANS) The father and two minor brothers of a 19-year-old woman were arrested on the charge of murdering her in a case of suspected “honour killing”, police said on Monday. Minati Dalai was found hanging from a tree near her home at Badapankalabadi village in Ganjam district, about 250 km from state .. read more

Honour killing sparks Tunis protest

Hundreds of Tunisian citizens held a silent march in the capital on Thursday (June 19th) to condemn the alleged honour killing of a 13-year-old girl. “No to violence against women and children,” and “Eya is a victim of extremism and fanaticism” were among the messages on banners at the demonstration. The father of Tunis girl Eya Laaroussi .. read more

EU voices concern over violence against women in Pakistan

BRUSSELS, June 16 (KUNA) — The EU Monday voiced “deep concern” by the wide-spread violence perpetrated against women in Pakistan on Monday. An EU statement said the recent tragic death of Farzana Parveen, killed by her family in front of the High Court in Lahore, “is a stark reminder of the barbarity of honour killings .. read more

Pakistani Religious Council Issues Edict Against Honor Killings

Some 50 religious scholars from the nongovernmental Pakistan Ulema Council have met and issued an edict against so-called “honor killings.” The chairman of the Ulema Council, Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi, told RFE/RL on June 6 that “anyone killing a woman in the name of honor is committing three crimes — defamation of Islam, defamation of the .. read more

HUSAIN: Muslim scholars issue fatwa condemning honor killings

In response to an epidemic of honor killings, Muslim scholars from around the world have issued a series of fatwas denouncing the practice as antithetical to Islam, and directly forbidden. Recently, the All Pakistan Ulema Council issued a fatwa, declaring that “killing of girls in the name of honor or dignity is terrorism and viciousness — which .. read more