Woman persecuted for her career aspirations

RAWALPINDI: A female professor from Balochistan appealed to human rights organisations and the Supreme Court Chief Justice to protect her from becoming a victim of honour killings. Safina Naz incurred the wrath and disdain of traditional elements of Balochistan for being  a working woman and student of PhD.

Naz lives in constant fear of being killed by her former husband and family members, and claims that
she has already been the victim of two murder attempts. She also claims that her cousin, Sumaila, had already been killed in the name of ‘honour’.

Naz said that when she was a professor at the Army Public School in Zhob, her husband used to detain her in a dark room without food.

He was a tailor and allegedly tortured her as punishment for wanting to pursue higher education and working, both of which he considered ‘dishonourable’.

Naz applied for a ‘khula’ (dissolution of marriage) from him and moved to Rawalpindi.

She said that her husband attempted to kill her when she was leaving. On February 3, 2009, she filed a case against her husband in Rawalpindi, where a second attempt on her life was foiled by the District and Session Judge. The judge ordered the police to take her to a safer place.

Her father Altaf Hussain, cousin Muhammad Irshad and her husband appeared in court, tendered an apology and signed an affidavit stating that Naz would be allowed to work and study.

It was also said that she would be given physical protection.

Naz went back to her home town where her husband once again subjected her and their two children to violence.

She escaped in October 2009 and sued her husband, asking for dissolution of their marriage.

The judge decreed the case in her favour on November 25, 2009 and sent her to Dar ulAaman.

Later, her ex-husband and cousin sent a woman to Dar ulAaman who attempted to kill Naz, but succeeded only in fracturing her arm.

After this incident, she left Dar ulAaman and now keeps moving around the city, appearing only in court. She said that she poses as a mentally challenged, homeless person so that her family cannot find her.

She appealed to Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani and human rights organisations to intervene and provide
her protection from being killed.

Safina Naz is the only woman from Balochistan attempting to do a doctorate in Keratography.

She was selected by the government to do her PhD abroad under the National Training System after she secured 92 per cent marks.

She was married to Zahoor Ahmed in 1999 and said that the only reason he let her continue working was so that he could live off her salary, which was Rs38,000 per month.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2010.