Recently in honor killing Category

Sweden now joins several Muslim countries in giving lenient sentences for honor murders. Yes, he was a juvenile. But this was a savage murder.

Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing, there will be many more such murders.

"Court slashes sentence in 'honour killing' case," from The Local, May 7 (thanks to Pamela Geller):

A Swedish appeals court has reduced a lower court's eight-year prison sentence for a 17-year-old boy found of guilty fatally stabbing his sister more than 100 times after she fled a forced marriage in Iraq, in what the court referred to as an "honour killing".

In a ruling issued on Tuesday, the Malmö Court of Appeals (Hövrätten), upheld the teen's guilty verdict, but discarded the lower court's eight-year prison sentence.

The court instead sentenced the boy to four years in juvenile detention because he was 16 when he killed his sister.

As the boy was only days away from his 17th birthday at the time of the attack, the lower court had decided to punish him as a 17-year-old rather than as a 16-year-old, allowing for a longer prison sentence.

The appeals court verdict stated that had the the crime been committed by an adult, it would have warranted a sentence of life in prison.

The appeals court's verdict also confirmed that there was enough evidence to tie the teen to the murder, restating that the apparent motive was the notion of protecting the family's honour.

The 17-year-old's sister had previously fled a forced marriage in Iraq and returned to Sweden. Her body was found with multiple stab wounds in her Landskrona apartment in April 2012.

Representatives of the Malmö-based organization Tänk om, which works to stop honour crimes, told local media at the time that the woman had been in touch with them for one year since returning to Sweden and that she slept with a knife under her pillow for fear of reprisals over her escape.

They claimed local authorities had ignored their warnings that the woman was under threat and needed protection....

Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing, there will be many more such murders.

"Jordan woman's throat slit in 'honor' killing: police," from AFP, April 14 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

AMMAN — Jordanian police said on Sunday they found the burned body of a pregnant woman whose throat had been slit and belly cut open showing her four-month-old fetus, in an apparent "honor killing."

"We found the body of the woman at dawn in Ruseifeh (east of Amman). Her throat was slit in a hideous way. The body was burned after the murder," a police spokesman said.

"We believe it was an honor crime. The belly of the woman, who was in her twenties, was cut open and we could see her four-month-old unborn child, who was dead too. Investigations are still under way."

Between 15 and 20 women die in so-called "honor" murders each year in the Arab kingdom, despite government efforts to curb such crimes.

Murder is punishable by death in Jordan, but in "honor killings" courts can commute or reduce sentences, particularly if the victim's family asks for leniency.

Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing, there will be many more such murders.

"Police: Slain Bedouin teen likely victim of 'honor killing,'" by Ilana Curiel for Ynet News, February 25 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

A Bedouin man from southern Israel is the prime suspect in the murder of his 16-year-daughter, whose body was found in a well in the Kuseife community in the Negev.

The man is suspected of an act of "honor killing," allegedly throwing his daughter down the well over what the family deemed an "undesirable romantic involvement."

The investigation in the case was launched after the father filed a missing persons report with the police on Sunday, saying his daughter had disappeared. He expressed concerned that she might have fallen into a local well.

Following an extensive police searches, which also included the district diving unit, the girl's body was found.

The man was promptly arrested following the investigation's opening, and remanded for an additional four days on Monday.

During his arraignment hearing, the police revealed that they had evidence suggesting that the family was opposed to the girl's romantic affair. The father is currently refusing to cooperate with the investigation.

The judge noted that "The family is maintaining a conspiracy of silence. This is the gravest offense in the rulebook. When it's an 'honor killing,' it makes it even worse."

The police said that all leads point to the father, who has a violent criminal record, with the possibility that he was assisted by other culprits.

The police representative at the hearing said that "The father knew what he did and that she was in the well. The event occurred in the last two days and there's more than a reasonable suspicion implicating the father with murder."

A preliminary autopsy by the Abu Kabir Institute of Forensic Medicine found evidence of drowning, but the girl's time of death is unknown as yet.

The suspect's attorney denied the allegations and accused the police of "shooting in the dark."

This politically correct self-censorship will only lead to more honor killings, because it perpetuates the denial and obfuscation about the Islamic justifications for such murders.

Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing, there will be many more such murders.

"Behzti playwright accuses BBC of 'extraordinary' censorship of 'honour killings' episode," by Adam Sherwin for The Independent, January 29:

A leading playwright has accused the BBC of an “extraordinary” act of censorship after the corporation told her to cut key lines from a drama about “honour killings” which will be broadcast by Radio 4 this week.

Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, whose controversial play Behzti was pulled from a Birmingham theatre in 2004 following protests from the Sikh community, wrote an episode for Radio 4’s DCI Stone series, which will be broadcast in the Afternoon Drama slot.

Bhatti’s episode, called Heart Of Darkness and due to air on Friday, tells the story of an investigation into the killing of a 16 year-old Asian girl, whose dumped body is found after being stabbed to death.

"Asian" is the Sharia-compliant British media's euphemism for "Muslim."

When it emerges that the girl was a victim of an “honour killing”, DCI Stone is told by his bosses is to treat the case “sensitively” because of her Muslim heritage.

“A week before recording I got an email from the producer saying the BBC compliance department had asked them to take lines out,” Bhatti told the Index On Censorship conference on artistic freedom of expression in the UK, held at the South Bank.

“At the end, a character says: ‘There is so much pressure in our community, to look right and to behave right.’ The compliance department came back and said ‘we don’t want to suggest the entire Muslim community condones honour killings.’

“It’s an extraordinary and awful situation. They said the lines were offensive but they absolutely were not. We live in a fear-ridden culture.

“Unbelievably, what the compliance department said was if you can find a factual example of community pressure leading to an honour killing, you can have the line. But it’s a drama, a story.

“It’s a crucial part of that story. I was very disappointed given my previous experience of censorship. If you take out the line, the whole thing changes, it’s a betrayal of the character and the truth of the unfolding story.”...

A Radio 4 spokesman said: “This is a hard-hitting drama about the realities of honour killing in Britain. A single line in the script could be taken to infer that the pressure and motivation to commit such a crime in a family comes from the wider Muslim community, potentially misrepresenting majority British Muslim attitudes to honour killing. Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti was asked to amend this line in the normal editorial process of script development.”

Sir Nicolas Serota, director of the Tate, told the conference that there was no “easy path” to free expression in the arts. “In pushing against boundaries, artists help us to question the values of our society...art is a vital space where those values can be discussed,” he said.

Sir Nicolas defended the Tate’s decision to withdraw from display God is Great, 1991, a work by John Latham featuring copies of the Bible, a Koran and a Talmud, which have been physically manipulated, in 2005.

The Tate was advised by Muslim community leaders showing the work, shortly after the July 7 bombings, could provoke protests....

Jude Kelly, Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre, warned that arts institutions could become victims of “self-censorship”, as the threat of funding cuts makes bodies avoid presenting works which might provoke a public backlash....

This warning is way too late. We are already there.

And the honor murderer is planning to appeal, complaining that this sentence is excessive. Perhaps a tougher sentence for a young man who stabbed his sister 107 times to cleanse his family's honor would be "racist."

"Teen in Sweden jailed eight years for honour killing," from Agence France-Presse, January 29 (thanks to all who sent this in):

Stockholm: A Swedish court on Tuesday sentenced a 17-year-old man to eight years in prison for stabbing his sister 107 times in what judges called an honour killing.

The teen, who was 16 at the time, was convicted of killing his 19-year-old sister at her home in the southwestern town of Landskrona on April 23 last year.

He had called emergency services and said a masked attacker had killed her, but investigators said his story didn't hold up against evidence found at the scene.

"The court found the man guilty of the murder and that the motive was to restore the family's honour," the Lund district court said in a statement.

It said that "despite the man's young age," it was sentencing him "to a long prison sentence, and has set it at eight years."

The names and nationalities of the brother and sister were not disclosed, but media described the family as being of Iraqi origin.

The sister had told friends and family that she was worried her life was in danger, after she fled from Iraq, where she had been reportedly married against her will to an older man whom she claimed beat and raped her.

Once in Sweden, she contacted social services in Landskrona, but she said they did not take her family's threats against her seriously, Swedish media reported.

The court meanwhile refused to pay damages to the victim's mother and a half-sister born to the same father, arguing the relatives did not have a close relationship with the deceased.

The lawyer for the convicted teen called the sentence "extremely harsh" and said he planned to appeal.

Here we go again.

Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing, there will be many more such murders.

"Violence against women: Woman stabbed to death ‘for having an affair,’" from the Express Tribune, January 5 (thanks to Lookmann):

SADIQABAD / KHANPUR / FAISALABAD: A man killed his sister in Faisalabad for allegedly having an affair.

Jaranwala Saddar police said that Zarqa Kanwal, a resident of Chak 54-GB, had an argument with her brother, Qayum Shehzad, after he told her not to step out of the house.

They said he had suspected her of having an affair with a boy from the neighbourhood.

Following the argument, he stabbed her, killing her on the spot.

He later hung her body from a fan to make it look like a suicide. Police registered a case against Shehzad, after his father named him as the suspect. Police said they were slooking for him....

Here we go again.

Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing, there will be many more such murders.

Video thanks to Blazing Cat Fur.

Why did she go visit him at all, after he had murdered her mother, brother and sister? Anyway, here is yet another Islamic honor killing.

Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing, there will be many more such murders.

"Afghan inmate kills wife during prison visit," from AFP, January 2 (thanks to Lookmann):

AFP - An Afghan prisoner murdered his wife when she went to visit him, allegedly because she had been unfaithful after he was jailed for killing her relatives, police said.

Din Mohammad was sentenced to 20 years in prison two years ago for killing his mother-in-law, and his wife's brother and sister in the northern province of Samangan.

Mohammad's wife, whose name has not been disclosed, visited him in jail in the provincial capital Aybak on Monday and was found dead in a small private room used for inmates to see their wives, police said.

Mohammad confessed to her murder, Samangan police chief Ikram Nikzad told AFP.

"Mohammad was told by his mother that his wife had affairs," he said, citing a police investigation.

"When she came to visit him in jail he strangled her with her veil and killed her. They were meeting in a private prison room," he said.

Mohammad's mother has been detained for questioning, Nikzad added.

According to a UN report last month, Afghanistan has made progress in protecting women against violence, but many still suffer horrific abuse 11 years after a US-led invasion brought down the Taliban regime.

Afghan women still endure killings by relatives in the name of family honour, forced marriages and domestic abuses....

Longtime Jihad Watch readers may notice that I have posted the following information before. And I will continue to post it, as long as the near-universal denial and obfuscation continues, which I expect will be until right around the time that hell freezes over.

Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing, there will be many more such murders.

"Lawlessness prevails: Six of a family killed in ‘honour killing,’" from the Express Tribune, December 26 (thanks to Lookmann):

YAR HUSSAIN: Six people of a family, including four women, were killed in Swabi district on Tuesday, in what officials said could be a case of honour killing.

The incident took place in the village of Sard Cheena.

Two teenaged sisters, Shamia and Khalida, told Yar Hussain police that three armed men broke into their house in Mera Bakakhel while their family was asleep. The men opened fire and killed their parents, three sisters and one-year-old niece.

SHO Qazi Asmat said that the sisters have accused three brother-in-laws for the crime. Asmat said that initial investigation revealed that the women Naseem Bibi, her one-year-old daughter Raina, Anjuman Bibi and Naqraz Bibi had separated from their husbands and were living with their parents....

The "moderate" Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders.

Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing, there will be many more such murders.

"Abbas aide: No plans to outlaw 'honor killing,'" by Soraya Al-Ghussein and Hannah Patchett for Ma'an, December 24 (thanks to Jerk Chicken):

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- President Mahmoud Abbas has no plans to amend laws that reduce sentences for suspects who claim an "honor" defense for murdering women, his legal adviser says.

"Why change it? This would cause serious problems," Hassan al-Ouri told Ma'an, adding that such a reform would "not benefit women."

In May 2011, the president pledged to amend the law to guarantee maximum penalties for "honor killing" in response to protests over the killing of university student Aya Baradiya in Hebron.

The decision was announced in a phone call to a primetime show on state TV, drawing tears among crowds of mourners shown in a live link-up from the Ramallah studio to Baradiya’s hometown.

Abbas suspended Article 340, which offers a pardon for murder if the perpetrator committed the crime on finding his wife in bed with another man.

The reform was cosmetic: Article 340 had never been used in Palestinian courts since it was legislated in 1960.

"So why did we change the law? To garner public opinion," al-Ouri said in an interview in the presidential compound in Ramallah.

"I, personally, was against the amendment because the crimes that happen in the street have no relevance to Article 340," the legal adviser added.

Al-Ouri says the president will not change the go-to clauses for lawyers seeking leniency for clients who claim they committed murder to defend family "honor."

Articles 97 to 100 of the Jordanian Penal Code, in force in the West Bank, still offer reduced sentences for any act of battery or murder committed in a "state of rage."

"The (law) only addresses 1 percent of the problem. What we need is a new culture," al-Ouri said.

Other officials insist the penal code is the problem.

The law "privileges the killer," Interior Ministry official Haitham Arrar told Ma'an.

"It encourages some people to commit crimes against women, which will go (as far as) killing them," said Arrar, who heads the ministry's democracy and human rights unit.

Abbas fears 'conservative forces'

The Palestinian Legislative Council has not met since 2007, when Hamas and Fatah split, but women's rights expert Soraida Hussein dismisses arguments that reforms must wait until parliament reconvenes.

"For us, for women, all this is irrelevant," said Hussein, general director of the Women's Technical Affairs Committee, an umbrella group of women’s organizations. "Until now, our lives -- in law and in practice -- are seen as less than men's."

The president should issue a decree that "anybody killing anyone else will be sentenced to the highest sentence possible, whether it is a woman or a boy," says Hussein.

"The minute the law is changed and applied, the minute people will think twice," she says. "It's simple and it's not done."

Hussein suggests Abbas is hesitant to pass legal reforms because "he is not ready yet to confront conservative forces."

For Ma'an, as for the mainstream media, you're "conservative" if you support Sharia and honor killings, but if you oppose them you're..."conservative."

In 2009, Abbas ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, but al-Ouri, the legal adviser, says it will only be implemented "so long as it doesn’t contravene Islamic code."

"Look, we are for total equality but if there is a basic tenet of Islamic code that we would be forced to change under CEDAW, then people would revolt and brand us as non-believers," al-Ouri said.

'Dressing up honor'

Lax laws encourage murder suspects to claim "honor" in their defense, officials and women’s rights activists say.

"Because the penalty is one or two months, they consider killing her and dress it up as honor," Minister of Women's Affairs Rahiba Diab told Ma'an.

Khawla al-Azraq, who runs a women’s counseling center in Bethlehem, notes that femicide is a global issue but "now in Palestine, they call this honor killing."

"Sometimes these girls are abused by someone in the family and they need to cover this (up) and they kill her; sometimes because they need her money," she says. "These are the real reasons for killing."

"In Palestine, this is the gap, that until now we don’t have our own legislation that really can protect women."

The Independent Commission of Human Rights says 13 women have been killed this year, but the real figure is likely to be higher.

"There has been historically a problem of documentation," says Hussein, the women's rights expert. The cause of suspicious deaths of women was often recorded as "fate," which could refer to forced "suicides" or being pushed from a building, she explained.

Despite repeated requests since September, the Ministry of Interior did not provide Ma'an with the official number of women whose deaths were recorded as "fate" in 2012.

Islamic law forbids non-Muslim men to marry Muslim women. "Ex-sarpanch hacked to death for eloping with girl," from TNN, December 13 (thanks to Lookmann):

MACHERLA: In a gruesome incident, a former village sarpanch of a tribal hamlet was hacked to death for eloping with a girl from another community as the elders in her family were against their marriage. The incident took place in the wee hours of Wednesday at Ekonampet village of Macherla mandal in Guntur district. Two others, including the girl who married the tribal leader, were also injured in the incident.

According to information, Sreenu Naik, 30, of Ekonampet village fell in love with one Shaik Fatima, 23, of Macherla town a few years ago. However, Fathima's elders objected to their marriage as Sreenu Naik was already married and had two children. However, to get the consent of the family members of Fathima, Sreenu Naik, reportedly deserted his first wife and children.

Even then the family members of the girl and religious elders strongly objected to Sreenu's marriage proposal to Fathima and warned him to keep away from her. The story took a curious twist when Fathima herself left home to live with Sreenu. The couple fled Macherla town and were residing at Ekonampet village. Feeling humiliated by Fathima's decision, her brothers reportedly began hatching a plot to eliminate Sreenu about six months ago and got the chance on Wednesday.

Armed with deadly weapons, they reached the village in the early hours and tried to barge into the house. As the door was locked from inside, the assailants removed tiles on the roof and entered the house. At least three persons are said to have entered the house and hacked Sreenu to death. The victim died on the spot as he was attacked with sickles and axes and stabbed several times. When a terrified Fathima shouted for help, the offenders attacked her too leaving her with a severe head injury. A neighbour Sakru Naik, who rushed to the spot, was also attacked by the fleeing offenders. Sakru Naik suffered bleeding injuries. Locals rushed to the spot and took the injured to hospital. Macherla police launched an investigation into the case. With Sakru Naik's condition turning critical, the police shifted him to the Government General Hospital (GGH) at Guntur. Fathima is recovering at the Macherla government hospital.

Longtime Jihad Watch readers may notice that I have posted the following information before. And I will continue to post it, as long as the near-universal denial and obfuscation continues, which I expect will be until right around the time that hell freezes over.

Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing, there will be many more such murders.

"Brother beheads younger sister over affair in India," from Gulf Today, December 8 (thanks to Kenneth):

KOLKATA: In the first case of honour killing in Kolkata, a garment trader decapitated his younger sister with a sword and took the severed head to the police station, where he surrendered.

The 29-year-old trader, identified as Mehtab Alam, discovered that his sister, 24-year-old Nilofer Bibi, a mother of two, was staying with a rickshaw-puller with whom she had eloped, police sources said on Saturday.

Alam went to the rickshaw-puller's house, dragged out his sister and beheaded her with the sword in full public view on Friday, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Port division) Mehboob Rehman.

Local people watched horrified as Alam walked down the road at Ayubnagar with the severed head dangling in his hand, before surrendering to the Nadial police station.

"He even asked for a glass of water after reaching the police station," police sources said.

According to eye-witnesses, Alam justified his crime saying he did it to punish his sister for the extra-marital affair.

"It was not the decision of the family to kill her. The brother had lost his temper and had unilaterally decided to kill her," Rehman said....

Longtime Jihad Watch readers may notice that I have posted the following information before. And I will continue to post it, as long as the near-universal denial and obfuscation continues, which I expect will be until right around the time that hell freezes over.

Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing, there will be many more such murders.

"15-year-old Bedouin girl stabbed to death in suspected honor killing," by Michal Shmulovich for the Times of Israel, November 26 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):

A 15-year-old girl was apparently stabbed to death on Monday in a suspected honor killing in the Bedouin town of Tel Sheva. The victim’s 24-year-old brother called the police to confess to killing her.

Police rushed to the scene and discovered signs of violence on her body. She was pronounced dead immediately. The brother who called the police was arrested, along with his two male siblings.

Police believe the girl was murdered because she was dating a boy against the wishes of her family, and refused to sever ties with him....

Longtime Jihad Watch readers may notice that I have posted the following information before. And I will continue to post it, as long as the near-universal denial and obfuscation continues, which I expect will be until right around the time that hell freezes over.

Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing, there will be many more such murders.

"Man featured in Aamir Khan's show on honour killing murdered," by Dwaipayan Ghosh and Pervez Iqbal Siddiqui for TNN, November 27 (thanks to Block Ness):

NEW DELHI: Five months after a young couple appeared on Aamir Khan's television show, Satyamev Jayate, and talked about the threat to their lives because they had married without their parents' consent, the man was shot dead near his village in western Uttar Pradesh on Thursday evening, allegedly by his wife's brothers.

Abdul Hakim, 28, and his 26-year-old wife Mehwish, both Muslims hailing from families with different social standing, had been living under the protection of an NGO in Delhi since May last year. About 15 days ago, Hakim and his wife, who is nine months pregnant, went to meet his ailing mother near Adoli village in Bulandshahr district. He was shot there, while on his way home from the local police station.

The couple, who were neighbours at Adoli, ran away together two years ago after marrying secretly in June 2009. According to Mehwish, her family was opposed to the match because Hakim was poor and belonged to the 'lower' Fakir community. Hakim's father was earlier allegedly killed by Mehwish's family in the village, although it was shown as suicide in police records.

"They would not let us live in peace and now they have taken their revenge," she said on Monday.

"The couple was scared even before coming to the show," Aamir Khan told reporters in Jaipur. "We didn't force anyone to come to the show. The incident is highly unfortunate and shameful."

UP police, meanwhile, have spun an elaborate theory saying the killing was an act of "personal enmity" going back to the time when the couple was in Delhi. But Mehwish and her Delhi-based shelter-providers, Love Commandos, said it was a clear case of murder involving her brothers.

Bulandshahr circle officer Lal S Yadav said Hakim was a victim of a family feud that had its roots in Delhi. "The girl's family had come to accept the marriage. Nothing indicates this murder is linked to the couple's marriage," he claimed.

Yadav added that Hakim's nephew, Salman, had entered into a brawl on June 6 and the alleged killers wanted him to take back the police case lodged against them. "Hakim's death was a result of this feud," said Yadav.

The couple, after a 12-year courtship, had secretly married on June 5, 2009. They kept living with their respective parents till Mehwish's family fixed her marriage for November 11, 2010. The couple then eloped on October 29. Till then, exchanging letters across a brick wall was the only source of communication between the two.

Mehwish's family then announced a bounty on the couple's capture. In May 2011, the pair started living in a shelter in Delhi provided by Love Commandos, an organization that works to eradicate 'honour killings'. This was the first time they had returned to their village, where Hakim also had a police case lodged against him of kidnapping Mehwish.

The nation became aware of the couple's struggles when they were featured in Aamir Khan's Satyamev Jayate on June 3.

"On June 30, the National Commission for Women ordered UP police to protect the two. But this directive was ignored. They asked Hakim to come down to Bulandshahr to record his statement. When he refused, they never contacted him again," Sanjoy Sachdev, chairman of Love Commando, said. The area SSP, however, offered to review his security.

Meanwhile, a girl was born to the couple bringing fresh hope that relations between the two families would normalize. But that was not to be.

"I didn't know people of my own village had arranged for weapons to kill us. I am the next target," a shocked Mehwish said.

Hakim's family had moved to Bhargardi village, 2km away from Adoli. But his father, Abdul Hafiz, refused to leave his ancestral house and stayed back. On July 6, 2011 Hakim's nephew Salman visited an ailing Hafiz to know about his well-being and on his way home, he was allegedly assaulted by Mehwish's relatives. When Salman reported the matter to the police, a non-cognizable report was lodged.

Enraged over the police case, the accused allegedly reached the house of an ailing Abul Hafiz, hanged him upside from a tree right outside his house and assaulted him in full public view. When Abdul Hafiz's wife Shahooran, who had come to stay with her ailing husband, intervened, she too was assaulted. Hafiz died hanging from the tree. The police, however, saw the incident as suicide.

The couple was on the run when Mehwish gave birth to a baby girl who was now a year-and-a-half. In August 2012, when Mehwish got pregnant for the second time, she reached Bhargardi village to stay with Hakim's family for the delivery. Hakim used to visit her once or twice a week. On November 20, Hakim visited Mehwish when he was informed that people were on the lookout for him.

Hakim lodged a complaint with the local police the same day but no action followed. On Noveber 22, he was walking back after buying medicines for his wife when he was intercepted by three persons who shot him dead in public view around 4.30pm.

Aamir Khan said he is aware of the incident and would speak to the authorities to ensure the safety of the rest of the family. He described the murder as "disturbing and unfortunate". "I will speak to government authorities in UP to help and ensure the family is safe. The culprits must be brought to book. The case must be registered on basis of facts," the actor said.

Only second-degree? An update on this story. "Jury convicts Toronto man who slashed throat, stabbed wife," from CBC News, November 11 (thanks to Kenneth):

A Toronto man who stabbed his wife and slashed her throat four years ago was found guilty of second-degree murder on Sunday.

Peer Khairi, 65, sobbed quietly with his head down when the verdict was read in court, days after the jury first began its deliberations last Thursday.

His wife, Randjida Khairi, died in March 2008. She was 53 years old.

Assistant Crown Attorney Robert Kenny said the jury heard four weeks of evidence during the trial, including three days of testimony from Khairi himself....

During the trial, Khairi had claimed that he killed his wife in self-defence, alleging that she had tried to attack him with a knife.

We have seen this defense from Muslim honor murderers before.

The Crown argued that Khairi was angry with his wife and children for adopting more Western values after coming to Canada from Afghanistan.

Khairi had not revealed his claim that he was attacked prior to the trial, including when questioned by police.

In court, Khairi said that he had been waiting for his trial to tell the full story....

More bitter fruit of the culture of violence created by a religion that calls for the beating of disobedient women (Qur'an 4:34) and stipulates no penalty for a parent who kills a child. "Italy: Muslim Father Kills Children After His Wife Refuses To Wear Islamic Veil And Threatens To Leave," from Midnight Watcher, November 9 (thanks to Blazing Cat Fur):

Novopress (Translation) – “It seems that he no longer supported the habits of his wife including the fact that she had decided to no longer wear the veil as dictated by the tradition of the women if their country. This is the explanation given by the Corriere Della Sera.

Their country of course is Morocco, whom originates Mustafa Hajjaji, 44 Years old and his wife, ten years his junior. But the drama took place in the city where they had immigrated, Umbertide in the Perouse province, Ombrie region. It is there that Tuesday night, [Government officials] alerted by the wife, found in the bathroom the cadavers of two of the couple’s children, Ahmed, 8 years old, and Jiahane, 12 years old....

Just a month ago a woman had complained against her husband for threats of being hit and injuries and poor treatment. She had explained to the government officials of Citta Di Castello that her husband had brandished a knife against her. In the past the man had notably threatened on motive that she had stopped wearing the veil.

Before attempting to commit suicide the Moroccan had traced with blood on the walls, inscriptions in Arabic that are barely legible. He has also left a paper. The investigators attempt to decipher and to translate the messages in hope of finding explanations to the double murder. According to the Corriere della Sera, Mustafà Hajjaji wanted to punish his wife perhaps because after stopping wearing the veil, she had decided to leave her husband.”

Will hate-filled clowns like Reza Aslan and a thousand Islamic supremacists who wrote me on Twitter now apologize for trying to frame me and Pamela Geller for this murder? Let's just say I won't be holding my breath. Their Goebbels-like Big Lie and manifest dishonesty, however, is clear for all the world to see. They staged a campaign, "One Million Hijabs for Shaima Alawadi." Will they now stage "One Million Hijabs Against Honor Killing"? Don't bet on it.

"Husband arrested in Iraqi woman’s killing," by Kristina Davis and Debbi Baker for U-T San Diego News, November 9 (thanks to Mike):

EL CAJON — The husband of an Iraqi woman who was found beaten to death in March in their El Cajon home has been arrested in connection with her death, El Cajon police said Friday.

Kassim Alhimidi, 48, was booked into jail Thursday evening on one count of first degree murder in the death of Shaima Alawadi, a 32-year-old mother of five. He was arrested at the El Cajon police station, authorities said.

Alhimidi is being held without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.

“After months of hard work, we determined this homicide was the result of domestic violence and not a hate crime,” El Cajon Police Chief Jim Redman said at a news conference.

Alawadi was attacked at the family’s Skyview Street home March 21. She was struck on the head at least six times and suffered four skull fractures, according to court records. She died in a hospital three days later.

Her family said a note was found near her body, telling them to go back where they came from. The family said a similar note had been left on their door weeks earlier, but they did not report the incident or keep the note.

The early implications that the slaying was a possible hate crime spawned international attention, especially among the Muslim community. Peace rallies and candlelight vigils promoting peace and a Muslim woman’s right to wear a head scarf spread throughout the world.

In an interview a week after the killing, her husband told the Arabic Al Arabiya News: “My wife was a victim of xenophobia.”

But court records obtained at El Cajon Superior Court showed a family in turmoil.

Alawadi apparently had been planning to divorce her husband and move with her children to Texas, where her mother, brothers and sisters live, a family member told investigators after her death.

Police who searched the home after the slaying found court paperwork to file for a divorce in Alawadi’s Ford Explorer. The packet was blank, but a form requesting a wavier of court fees was filled out in handwriting with Alawadi’s name, address and phone number.

Her brother, Hass Alawadi, said the husband had known about her plans to divorce for quite some time.

The couple’s 17-year-old daughter, Fatima Alhimidi, was also upset about a pending arranged marriage to a cousin, the documents show.

The attack occurred about 11 a.m., after the husband had reportedly left to take four of the younger children to school. Only Alawadi and Fatima were home.

Fatima told police she was in her bedroom when she heard her mother squeal, and about 10 seconds later heard the sound of glass breaking, according to a search warrant affidavit. She thought maybe her mom had dropped a plate.

When she went downstairs 10 minutes later, she found her mother lying unconscious on the ground, in the dining room near a computer, and called 911.

An autopsy report described the assault as “extremely violent” and said the injuries may have been caused by a tire iron.

Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing, there will be many more such murders.

"Three brothers reportedly murder their married sister," by Rana Husseini for the Jordan Times, November 5 (thanks to Hussein):

AMMAN — Criminal Court Prosecutor Qahtan Qawaqzeh on Monday questioned three brothers who reportedly murdered their married sister earlier in the day in the latest so-called honour killing to take place in the Kingdom this year, official sources said.

The three suspects, residents of Ruseifa, 15 kilometres east of Amman, were apprehended by authorities shortly after arriving at the police station claiming that one of them “stabbed his sibling to death at her home in the capital’s Shmeisani neighbourhood to cleanse his family’s honour”, a senior police official said.

“Investigators were not convinced by their story and decided to detain all three brothers for questioning,” the source told The Jordan Times.

In their initial testimony to the police and Qawaqzeh, the suspects said “they received information that their sister, who was married to an Arab national, was involved in an immoral relationship and decided to come to Amman to discuss the matter with her”, the source said.

When the brothers entered their sister’s house, one of them stabbed her with a knife 17 times to different parts of her body, according to the suspects’ initial confessions.

“Two of the brothers claimed that they tried to prevent the third from stabbing their sister, but failed,” the source added.

Qawaqzeh is currently questioning the suspects and is expected to charge the three brothers with premeditated murder.

The victim was the third woman to be killed for reasons related to family honour in Jordan in less than a week.

On October 31, a 56-year-old man reportedly strangled his 22-year-old daughter with his hands at his home in Zarqa, 22 kilometres east of the capital, following an argument related to her “alleged immoral behaviour”.

On November 3, a 35-year-old man slit the throat of his divorced niece, in one of the Kingdom’s governorates, claiming family honour as the motive. The previous day, police handed her over to her father, who signed a guarantee that his daughter would not be harmed after she went missing from her family’s home for 10 days.

While the world holds its breath, for some it is business as usual.

Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing, there will be many more such murders.

"Honour killing: Man kills sister, shoots another," from PTI, November 5 (thanks to Block Ness):

DEHRADUN: In a suspected case of honour killing, a man allegedly strangled his teenage sister and shot a relative of her lover in a village in Uttarakhand's Haridwar district in the wee hours on Monday. Ishtekhar flew into a rage and throttled his 17-year-old sister after finding her making love to Irfan in the early hours in Kheri Shikohpur village, police said.

After throttling his sister to death, Ishtekhar went to the house of Irfan, who had fled from the scene, and fired at him with a country-made pistol, they said. But the bullet missed the target and hit Irfan's uncle Bhoora in the abdomen wounding him seriously, police said.

Ishtekhar had been taken into custody, they said.

It isn't as if she did it just once.

Muslims commit 91 percent of honor killings worldwide. A manual of Islamic law certified as a reliable guide to Sunni orthodoxy by Al-Azhar University, the most respected authority in Sunni Islam, says that "retaliation is obligatory against anyone who kills a human being purely intentionally and without right." However, "not subject to retaliation" is "a father or mother (or their fathers or mothers) for killing their offspring, or offspring's offspring." ('Umdat al-Salik o1.1-2). In other words, someone who kills his child incurs no legal penalty under Islamic law.

The Palestinian Authority gives pardons or suspended sentences for honor murders. Iraqi women have asked for tougher sentences for Islamic honor murderers, who get off lightly now. Syria in 2009 scrapped a law limiting the length of sentences for honor killings, but "the new law says a man can still benefit from extenuating circumstances in crimes of passion or honour 'provided he serves a prison term of no less than two years in the case of killing.'" And in 2003 the Jordanian Parliament voted down on Islamic grounds a provision designed to stiffen penalties for honor killings. Al-Jazeera reported that "Islamists and conservatives said the laws violated religious traditions and would destroy families and values."

In light of all this, until authorities get the courage to tell the truth about honor killing, there will be many more such murders.

More on this honor murder story. "Pakistan acid attack parents 'feared dishonour,'" from the BBC, November 5:

A couple arrested in Pakistan on suspicion of killing their 15-year-old daughter with acid say they carried out the attack because she looked at a boy.

The girl's father told the BBC that they feared she would bring dishonour on their family. Her mother said it was her "destiny" to die that way.

The couple were arrested in Pakistani-administered Kashmir last week.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan reported 943 women were killed in honour killings last year.

That represented an increase of more than 100 from 2010.

Police say that the incident took place in a remote village in the southern district of Kotli. They say that the case was brought to their attention by the couple's eldest daughter.

The girl, known only as Anusha, was found to have burns over 60% of her body. Her father Muhammad Zafar told the BBC what happened:

"There was a boy who came by on a motorcycle. She (Anusha) turned to look at him twice. I told her before not to do that, it's wrong. People talk about us because our older daughter was the same way," he said.

Her mother Zaheen described the aftermath: "She said 'I didn't do it on purpose. I won't look again.' By then I had already thrown the acid. It was her destiny to die this way."

Anusha's father is reported to have taken his daughter inside, beaten her and then acid was poured over her with the help of his wife. Officials say that the couple did not take their daughter to hospital until the following morning.

The couple say that an older daughter had already disgraced the family and they did not want to be dishonoured again....

Then clearly the proper response was to stock up on acid.