Protecting ‘honour’: Man kills niece over ‘loose morals’
She was supposed to marry her cousin this month but had threatened to run away.
FAISALABAD:
A man killed his niece in Mamon Kanjan on Monday night, claiming that she had “loose morals” and had brought “untold shame” on the family.
Police said 22-year-old Ayesha Bibi*, a resident of village 558-GB, was supposed to marry her cousin Shafiq Ahmad on June 26. She had refused to marry him and had threatened to elope with another man if she was forced to marry Ahmad. Infuriated over the refusal, her uncle Aslam Ahmad shot and killed her.
Irfan Ali, a relative of Ayesha Bibi, told The Express Tribune that she had eloped with another man last year. He said that she had married him against her parents’ wishes. Ayesha Bibi’s family then allegedly abducted two women from the man’s family as revenge. Both families called a panchayat that helped them reach a compromise and women from both sides were returned to their families. Ayesha was forced to divorce the man.
Ali said later her parents arranged for her to marry her cousin Shafiq Ahmad. He said Ayesha Bibi had refused to remarry and threatened to run away.
Ali said her uncle Aslam Ahmad became furious over the refusal and shot her when she was home alone on Monday night.
He said upon hearing the shots, neighbours gathered at the house. They saw Ayesha Bibi lying in a pool of blood and Aslam Ahmad standing next to her with a gun in his hands, he added. Ali said she was still alive but when tried to take her to a hospital Aslam threatened to shoot anyone who tried to help her.
Ali said, “Aslam Ahmad told the people that he had shot Ayesha because she had ‘loose morals’ and had brought shame on the family. She eloped with a man while her parents were arranging for her to marry her cousin.”
The woman’s father Amjad Ghafoor told The Express Tribune that his daughter’s elopement had caused his family great embarrassment. “Our baradari in the village had boycotted us socially. I managed to get my daughter to divorce that man.”
He said Ayesha Bibi had agreed to divorce the man but “when we arranged for her to marry her cousin, she threatened to run away again.”
Mamon Kanjan Station House Officer Zafar Iqbal said they had registered a murder case against Aslam on the complaint of the woman’s father.
“A police team has also been constituted to arrest Aslam,” he said. Mamon Kanjan Investigation Officer Sub Inspector Munawwar Ahmad said the woman’s body had been taken to a mortuary for post-mortem examination. He said further action would be taken on receipt of the post-mortem report.
*Names have been changed to protect identity
Published in The Express Tribune, June 25th, 2014.
A man killed his niece in Mamon Kanjan on Monday night, claiming that she had “loose morals” and had brought “untold shame” on the family.
Police said 22-year-old Ayesha Bibi*, a resident of village 558-GB, was supposed to marry her cousin Shafiq Ahmad on June 26. She had refused to marry him and had threatened to elope with another man if she was forced to marry Ahmad. Infuriated over the refusal, her uncle Aslam Ahmad shot and killed her.
Irfan Ali, a relative of Ayesha Bibi, told The Express Tribune that she had eloped with another man last year. He said that she had married him against her parents’ wishes. Ayesha Bibi’s family then allegedly abducted two women from the man’s family as revenge. Both families called a panchayat that helped them reach a compromise and women from both sides were returned to their families. Ayesha was forced to divorce the man.
Ali said later her parents arranged for her to marry her cousin Shafiq Ahmad. He said Ayesha Bibi had refused to remarry and threatened to run away.
Ali said her uncle Aslam Ahmad became furious over the refusal and shot her when she was home alone on Monday night.
He said upon hearing the shots, neighbours gathered at the house. They saw Ayesha Bibi lying in a pool of blood and Aslam Ahmad standing next to her with a gun in his hands, he added. Ali said she was still alive but when tried to take her to a hospital Aslam threatened to shoot anyone who tried to help her.
Ali said, “Aslam Ahmad told the people that he had shot Ayesha because she had ‘loose morals’ and had brought shame on the family. She eloped with a man while her parents were arranging for her to marry her cousin.”
The woman’s father Amjad Ghafoor told The Express Tribune that his daughter’s elopement had caused his family great embarrassment. “Our baradari in the village had boycotted us socially. I managed to get my daughter to divorce that man.”
He said Ayesha Bibi had agreed to divorce the man but “when we arranged for her to marry her cousin, she threatened to run away again.”
Mamon Kanjan Station House Officer Zafar Iqbal said they had registered a murder case against Aslam on the complaint of the woman’s father.
“A police team has also been constituted to arrest Aslam,” he said. Mamon Kanjan Investigation Officer Sub Inspector Munawwar Ahmad said the woman’s body had been taken to a mortuary for post-mortem examination. He said further action would be taken on receipt of the post-mortem report.
*Names have been changed to protect identity
Published in The Express Tribune, June 25th, 2014.