Pakistan-born parents guilty of murdering ‘westernised’ British daughter
FILE – This is a June 19, 2012 file photo of Iftikhar Ahmed, the father of murdered teen-ager Shafilea Ahmed. A British court on Friday Aug. 3, 2012 found a mother and father guilty of murdering their teen-age daughter Shafilea Ahmed in a so-called honor killing. The Chester Crown Court found that Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed, both originally from Pakistan, suffocated their 17-year-old daughter, Shafilea, in 2003. During the trial, Shafilea’s sister Alesha told the jury that her parents pushed Shafilea onto the couch and she heard her mother say “just finish it here” as they forced a plastic bag into the girl’s mouth. AP Photo
LONDON:A jury found the Pakistani parents of a teenage girl guilty of murder Friday, a conviction that came after the girl’s sister turned against her parents, telling a jury how her mother and father suffocated 17-year-old Shafilea with a plastic bag in a so-called honor killing.
Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed face life in prison for killing their daughter in 2003.
The Chester Crown Court found that Iftikhar and Farzana Ahmed killed her daughter in 2003 and dumped her body.
Shafilea’s sister Alesha told the jury that her parents pushed Shafilea and then she heard her mother say, ”just finish it here.”
British authorities investigated hundreds of cases of forced marriages last year.
Some of the cases have ended up in so-called honor killings where relatives believe girls have brought shame on their families, sometimes for refusing marriage, other times for becoming too westernized.
Shafilea was only 10 when she began to rebel against her parents’ strict rules, according to prosecutor Andrew Edis.
Schoolmates described how she would wear western clothes and change before her parents picked her up.
Those same schoolmates also reported that Shafilea often went to school crying, describing how her mother would slap her and throw things at her.
But it was the last year of her life that was to be the most traumatic, the court heard. Shafilea began seeing boys, which prompted her parents to keep her at home more.
Despite multiple reports to social services, Shafilea’s file was closed in 2002.
Between November 2002 and January 2003, Shafilea told friends and teachers there had been an increase of assaults.
In February 2003, she ran away with her boyfriend Mushtaq Bagas and told council officers she needed emergency accommodation as her parents were trying to force her into an arranged marriage with her cousin.
In the same month, her parents took her to Pakistan where she drank bleach in protest against the arranged marriage. When she returned to Britain in May 2003, she was admitted to a hospital because of damage done to her throat. She was eventually released, but rows over her clothing continued.
Eventually, her parents beat her, stuffed a thin white plastic bag into her mouth and held their hands over her mouth and nose until she ”was gone,” her sister testified. The highest incidence of reported forced marriages is in Muslim communities.
Britain is home to more than 1.8 million Muslims.
A young life, a beautiful possibility snuffed out because the parents, who escaped their backward country could not escape their backward minds.
Even more unfortunate – the girl could not escape her parents' backward and savage sense of honor.
Just wondering how difficult it would have been for Alesha to lose a sister like that and then testifying against her very own insane parents.
most of the commenters are commenting against Islam firstly action of one or two should not be generalized to all,that daughter who stood against her parent is also a Muslim secondly Pakistan do have respect for women and so as Islam
Pakistan is not any orthodox state for evidence go and see our universities where percentage of female getting admission is more than males.There are certain acts which should be condemn and they exist everywhere in every country even in so called very civilized societies, there are incidents of shooting in school by the student killing teachers and fellow students in those civilized societies ,come and see our public places where females can move freely and in case of trouble many will gather to protect the lady.
Countries should not offer citizenship to such fanatics. Those who can't assimilate in foreign culture should go back to their country of origin!
I go with the parents … Children should understand what there parents want from them ..
Very tragic indeed for the girl who was murdered and for her sister who has to live this for rest of her life. People complain about minor irritants, even wonder how would anyone live through this? death seems very feeble penalty infront what these people are going to go through. Regardless of where they are from, what religion these nasty and disgusting things occur in this world.