Farzana Parveen, pregnant Pakistani woman, stoned to death for refusing arranged marriage
A pregnant Pakistani woman was stoned and killed for refusing an arranged marriage, and marrying a man she loved instead.
photo Applysense
Farzana Parveen, 25, died from head trauma Tuesday after her family, led by her father, brothers and arranged fiancé pummelled the woman with bricks.
“I do not even wish to use the phrase ‘honor killing’: there is not the faintest vestige of honour in killing a woman in this way,” U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement to CNN condemning the killing.
Parveen was betrothed to a cousin, but married a man “for love” against her family’s wishes. The family claimed the man kidnapped Parveen. She was set to testify in the Lahore High Court to refute these claims, but the family attacked her as she left the lawyers office, murdering the woman, calling it an “honor killing.”
Police officer Umer Cheema said that about 12 men escaped the authorities, but Parveen’s father was caught.
According to Pakistani law, families who carry out honor killings are often freed. The culture believes that it is necessary to kill an individual who shames the family.
“This is a huge flaw in the law. We are really struggling on this issue,” said Wasim Wagha of the Aurat Foundation.
One of Pakistan’s leading newspapers, The Nation, expressed outrage over Parveen’s killing.
“The familiar brand of barbaric ‘justice’ yet again triumphs over the written law of the land,” it said in an editorial Wednesday. “Another case is settled outside the courts. Another woman, in search of justice, stoned to death, in the name of honor.”
