Pakistan- Man Honor Kills Divorced Cousin For Having 'Suspicious Character'

Watch out if you have a 'suspicious' character in Pakistan. And you're female.

21 year-old Mehwish was divorced by her husband Imran because of her 'suspicious character".  Then her cousin Karamat murdered her after an altercation where he told her that her alleged 'suspicious character" had brought shame to his family.

Yes, that's all it takes to get yourself killed in a region where 'honor' is worth more than a human life.

An FIR was registered at Police Station Housing Colony on the complaint of Kausar Bibi, mother of the deceased, against Karamat on the charge of section 302 of Pakistan Penal Code, said Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Zahid Khan.

Cousin Karamat has yet to be arrested, though police claim they are doing what they can to apprehend him.

90-Year-Old Pakistani Woman Burns Her Daughter-In-Law Alive

People often talk about troubles with their mother-in-laws. It's hard enough dealing with some in-laws, but when you have to live with them (like many young couples do in places like Pakistan) it can be even more challenging.

25-year-old Sobia Bibi (mother of one child) got along well with her husband, but she often argued with his family.  It probably didn't help matters that he was off working in Karachi while she lived with the family in a small village near Lahore.  So on March 27, after some disagreement, Bibi's 90-year-old mother-in-law and several members of Bibi's husband's family burned her alive, as she was watching television.  Al-Arabiya doesn't mention if the house burned down, as well.

According to Sub-Inspector Muhammad Hussain, ' a case had been registered against four people', including the mother-in-law who was suspected of being inolved.

Unfortunately, this kind of thing is not an isolated incident.  Daughter-in-laws, and women in general, are as disposable as diapers in that region.

Men Forcing Wives To Undergo Female Genital Mutilation

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is one of the most horrifying rituals still practiced today. And it's not just Muslims chopping off the genitals of young girls, Christians in Africa are just as guilty, in spite of widespread efforts to ban the practice.  In fact, according to one report out of Kenya,  people are going out of their way to ensure that the tradition lives on by changing the season in which it's performed- from December to August,

...to avoid media spotlight and scrutiny from Government agencies.

FGM is performed on girls as young as a few days old and usually through puberty, but now per that same report, married women who were mercifully spared the knife as young girls are being forced to have the procedure done.

"Those who evaded the cut are now being forced to undergo the cultural practice or their husbands be denied land inheritance," said Women Rights Institute for Peace (Wrip) Executive Director Mariam Suleiman while releasing the report.

This was after Wrip undertook project activities geared towards preventing attempts to subject girls to the cut in November and December in Baringo County.

Suleiman said husbands force their wives to undergo the cut to avoid missing out on family inheritance.

Some chiefs and their assistants from the areas were accused of shielding FGM perpetrators from prosecution.

Circumcision period

"In East Pokot District the community in collusion with the Provincial Administration has changed the circumcision period from December to August to avoid the public, Government and media focus that comes at the end of the year," Wrip Executive Director stated.

She added that those who escaped the practice midyear are forced by their relatives to undergo the cut in December.

The report showed that only 99 girls underwent the cut in the months of November and December while 125 escaped and sought refuge in churches and at homes of relatives who are against the vice.

Suleiman further stated that lack of awareness of constitutional rights has made some girls not to seek legal action against perpetrators of the vice for fear of reprisals from their parents.

"There is need to educate them on laws, the court processes and the outcome especially on the fact that moving to court will not have their parents arrested," she said.

The Wrip boss urged anti-FGM stakeholders to let the campaigns be a continuous process to end the vice.

It's all about control. Shameful.

Another Afghan Woman Tortured By Husband And In-Laws

Another case of wife torture in Afghanistan.

According to Khaama Press, in the capital city of northern Baghlan province, Pul-e-Khumri, Afghan police arrested Abdul Mateen for torturing his 22-year-old wife Reeka by

.... shaving her head, putting her on snow and beating with cables.

The individual was finally detained by Afghan security forces and is currently under the investigations.

In the meantime provincial women affairs department chief Rahima Zarifee praised the Afghan security forces and said the tortured Afghan lady was taken to a secure place and her husband along with the first wife of him was detained by Afghan security forces.

Reeka who was tortured by her husband said she got married with Abdul Mateen three years back and was tortured, humiliated and insulted by her husband during these three years, and was even to prostitution.

She also said she filed complain against her husband but went to her husband’s house due to continued requests and lack of residence where she was again tortured until the police forces were informed and arrested her husband.

This comes as the wave of violence against women have dramatically increased across the country specifically in northern Baghlan province which has created concerns among the government officials and local residents in this province.

This was the same region where they found the 15-year-old bride, Sahar Gul, who had been starved, severely tortured, and kept in a dark basement by her husband and in-laws for refusing to prostitute herself.

At least they survived, 28-year-old Fatima wasn't so lucky. She was hanged by her husband's family, and then they threw boiling water over her dead body.

If violence against women is escalating now, just wait until we pull out.

Very sad!

18% of Young Asian Brits Support 'Honor' Based Violence

A poll sponsored by the BBC found that of the 500 young Asian Brits surveyed, 18% (1 in 5) think it's okay to beat the heck out of women if they've 'dishonored' their families. Killing them, not so much. Only 3% justified 'honor killings' for either

disobeying a father, rejecting a prearranged marriage, or marrying someone unacceptable by the family.

Not surprisingly, 6 percent of those were men as opposed to 1 percent of women.

A great majority of the 16 to 34-year-olds polled believe that 'honor' (as if violence is honorable) is a very important element in family life.  75% of those were men versus 63% of women. 

Violence against women is a huge global problem, but in a culture that devalues women and places more importance on 'honor' it becomes monumental.  And although Muslims aren't the only ones who participate in 'honor killings' and violence against women, it doesn't help matters that the Quran actually promotes wife beating for disobedience.

 Karma Nirvana,

...a charity that supports victims and survivors of honor based violence, reported on its Website that it receives “on average approximately 5,000 calls a year on our national helpline supporting all victims and survivors of forced marriage and honor based abuse.”

Jasvinder Sanghera, of the Karma Nirvana, fled her parent’s home when they attempted to force her into an arranged marriage at the age of 14.

She urged Asian community leaders in Britain to speak against the honor code, also known as “Izzat” in Urdu language.

“I’ve yet to see community leaders, religious leaders, politicians; Asian councilors give real leadership on this. They don’t because they know it makes them unpopular,” Sanghera told the BBC.

According to a spokesperson for the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organization (IKWRO), last year in the U.K. there were over 2,800  cases of  "‘honor’ based violence" reported to the police.

“These figures demonstrate that ‘honor’ based violence is not a minor problem but a very serious issue which affects thousands of people each year, many of whom will suffer high levels of abuse before they seek help,”

Many feel that 'forced marriage' is a major factor in honor based violence, so in an effort to thwart violence against young women who refuse to marry men that their families match them up with, Brit authorities are considering criminalizing it.

The Home Office has launched a campaign seeking public opinion on creating a specific criminal offence for forced marriages and how it should be formulated.

I sincerely doubt anything will come of it. Arranged marriages are a long standing tradition for many Asians, and laws won't prevent them from taking place, or the violence against a daughter/sister who refuses to comply.