[Rider Of Sucess]

Within a few hours Aqsa was no more. Her life was strangled out of her. Muhammad’s beautiful baby is no more — she died from neck compression. Aqsa is dead; she can wear a scarf no more; can go to the school no more. Aqsa can change into jeans no more; she can breathe no more

Sixteen years ago, God endowed Muhammad Parvez, a cab driver in Canada, with a beautiful baby-girl. Muhammad named her Aqsa Parvez. Eleven years ago, Aqsa started school. For the past few years, Aqsa had been leaving home every morning wearing track pants and a headscarf, headed for Applewood Heights Secondary School. Once inside school premises, Aqsa would routinely remove her scarf and change into jeans.

A year ago, Muhammad took a passenger to Applewood Heights Secondary School. Perchance, he spotted Aqsa without her headscarf. Since that day, a year ago, Aqsa had been showing up at school with bruised arms. At 8 am on December 10, 2007, the police received a telephone call from a man claiming to have killed his daughter. The police rushed Aqsa, suffering from life-threatening neck injuries, to Credit Valley Hospital. Aqsa, in critical condition, had to be transferred to the Hospital for Sick Children and put on life support.

Within a few hours Aqsa was no more. Her life was strangled out of her. Muhammad’s beautiful baby is no more — she died from neck compression. Aqsa is dead; she can wear a scarf no more; can go to the school no more. Aqsa can change into jeans no more; she can breathe no more. Did Muhammad use Aqsa’s scarf to strangle her? Would Muhammad Parvez go to hell or heaven?

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has charged Muhammad with second-degree murder. (In Canada, murder can be first or second degree. First degree murder is “planned and deliberate; murder while hijacking an aircraft, ***ual assault, murder during terrorist activity, murder while being associated with a criminal organization or while committing intimidation.” Second-degree murder is “all murder which is not first degree murder.”)

Honour killing is our export to Canada. Women who do not wear hijab are not virtuous. Hijab is a Muslim woman’s identity. Hijab is religion. Hijab is the sixth pillar. Hijab symbolises ***ual modesty. The West is conspiring to crush Islamic identity. Fact or fiction?

Here’s a fact: Aqsa has been murdered. For us, denial is not an option. According to the United Nations Population Fund more than 5,000 women worldwide fall victim to honour killing. Denial is not an option.

According to the UN’s Special Rapporteur “honour killings had been reported in Egypt, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey and Yemen”. Egypt is 90 percent Muslim, Iran 98 percent, Jordan 92 percent, Lebanon 60 percent, Morocco 99 percent, Pakistan 97 percent, the Syrian Arab Republic 90 percent and Turkey 99 percent. Of the 192 member-states of the United Nations almost all honour killings take place in nine overwhelmingly Muslim countries. Denial is not an option.

More recently, honour killings have taken place in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada. Intriguingly, all these honour killings have taken place in Muslim communities of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada. Denial is not an option.

Here’s another fact: Illiteracy and honour killings are correlated. Jacobabad District has a literacy rate of 23 percent, the lowest in Sindh. Jacobabad has the highest rate of crimes of honour; 91 honour killings in 2002. In illiteracy, next to Jacobabad are Ghotki and Larkana. Both Ghotki and Larkana have high rates of crimes of honour: 67 honour killings in Ghotki and 62 in Larkana. Hyderabad, on the other hand, has a literacy rate of 44 percent and there were 5 honour killings in 2002. Denial is not an option.

On March 1, 2005, PMLQ and MMA legislators in our National Assembly joined hands and defeated a bill that was introduced to strengthen the law against honour killings. In November 2006, the Senate passed the bill with PPP and ANP supporting the bill while the PMLN abstained.

Another fact: Around 2.5 percent of humanity lives in Pakistan. But, nearly 30 percent of all honour killings reported from around the world are reported from Pakistan.

Is denial an option? Who will take the honour out of these killings? Who will expose the horror from under the hijab? Who will protect women from the laws of men?

[Neo]

sad fact...
HONOUR KILLING....bringing shame to ISLAM n MUSLIMS n its only there when WOMEN's behaviour comes under scrutiny... i haven't seen ne MEN killed yet for that reason.. strangee isnt it??