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Posts Tagged ‘honour’

Syrian gang rape victim who fled to Germany after her ordeal is stabbed to death ‘in honour killing ordered by her own mother because she was seen as unclean after her sex assault’

A woman whose family branded her ‘unclean’ after she was gang-raped in her Syrian homeland has been found murdered in Germany – allegedly on the orders of her own mother.

Police believe the victim, named only as Rokstan M, 20, was stabbed to death by her father and brothers in the twisted logic that she had brought disgrace on her family through the sex attack.

Shortly before she was found dead in an allotment garden in the eastern German city of Dessau, she apparently had a premonition of her fate. Writing on her WhatsApp profile, she said: ‘I am awaiting death. But I am too young to die.’

Rokstan had been living in a house for single women before returning to her family a few days before she was murdered and buried in a shallow grave. The killing has served to pull into sharp focus the cultural gulf between Germans and the more than one million refugees expected to arrive in the country this year.

Rokstan had arrived in Germany two years ago following her ordeal.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3262990/Syrian-gang-rape-victim-fled-Germany-ordeal-stabbed-death-honour-killing-ordered-mother-seen-unclean-sex-assault.html#ixzz3ntf4lsHu

Region joins forces against ‘honour’ violence

POLICE in the North-East and support organisations led by the Halo Project have united to sign an honour based violence (HBV) charter pledging to wipe out the crime in the region and are urging victims to come forward.
They said that vital lessons have been learned since Banaz Mahmod’s pleas for help fell on deaf ears nine years ago and assured that they will be believed. The terrified 20-year-old wrote a letter from beyond the grave giving details about the men she believed would savagely kill her before her raped and strangled body was found in a suitcase.

PLEDGE: Yasmin Khan, director of Halo Project, signing a charter vowing to eradicate ‘honour’ based violence in the region with Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner, Barry Coppinger

After she was spotted kissing her boyfriend in the street, Banaz Mahmod from London was murdered by her own family in a so called ‘honour’ killing despite reporting to police that she feared her life was in danger five times.
The harrowing documentary, ‘Banaz: A Love Story’ made by award-winning filmmaker Deeyah Khan, was screened at the pledge event detailing the tragic events that unfolded from her police interview to her killers finally being brought to justice.
A picture of a younger Banaz flashed up on the screen shows a baby faced beauty with rosebud lips and a healthy glow. But the woman who sat in the police interview room with her straggly hair scraped back in a bun, looked gaunt, exhausted and with the knowing look of fear in her eyes.

Read More: http://expressnorth.co.uk/region-joins-forces-against-honour-based-violence/

London airport staff battle to stop #FGM during summer holidays

Heathrow’s border control staff are facing a ‘huge challenge’ to protect girls at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage during the summer holidays.

Border Force officers at London’s biggest airport have been trained to look out for girls who are being taken out of the country to undergo the illegal practice of FGM or other forms of violence, such as trafficking.

National school summer holidays are known to be exceptionally high risk for young girls – in some parts of Africa it is known as ‘cutting season’ for FGM – meaning staff are putting extra efforts into identifying victims of FGM and forced marriage.

Heathrow and Gatwick airport are conducting joint operations alongside the police to educate and protect potential victims.

Today, Heathrow airport demonstrated its work to Home Office minister Karen Bradley by simulating the arrival of a young woman who was suspected to be a trafficking victim.

Read More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-politics/11755793/London-airport-staff-battle-to-stop-FGM-during-summer-holidays.html

Phoenix Woman, Forced Into Marriage by Family, Is Brutally Assaulted by “Husband”

A Phoenix woman forced into an arranged marriage was brought against her will to her “husband’s” apartment on Monday, where police say she was violently sexually assaulted.

According to court documents obtained by New Times, the woman’s parents “married” her to 30-year-old Mohamed Abdullahi without her knowledge in November. Court documents show the marriage was done as part of a “Muslim custom called ‘Nikah.'” The documents describe the two as being joined “culturally.”

Police say the young woman learned of her arranged marriage in December, and she fled the state upon hearing the news. After 15 days out of state, she returned to Phoenix to finish high school.

On Monday, multiple family members brought her to Abdullahi’s apartment “against her will,” according to court records.

Once at the apartment, near 33rd and Van Buren streets, Abdullahi punched her in the face and started to strangle her with one hand around her throat, police say.

Abdullahi tore off her clothes, continued to slap her and bite her, and ultimately sexually assaulted her, according to court documents.

“During the entire incident, the victim was not free to leave and physically held against her will,” the arresting officer writes in a probable-cause statement. “The defendant placed his mattress against the door so the victim could not leave after he fell asleep.”

Read More: http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2015/04/muslim_arranged_marriage_sexual_assault_phoenix_nikah.php

Calgary documentary says forced marriages aren’t too far from home

Calgary filmmaker Iman Bukhari is breaking open the hidden reality of forced marriages in Canada in her debut documentary, “Forced.”

Bukhari spoke to 10 men and women who had been forced into marriage, all between the ages of 17 and 27, but only one agreed to appear in the film: a girl who was taken to her birth nation and forced into an unwanted marriage at age 13.

“People think that because we are in a first-world nation, these things don’t happen here, but they do,” she said.

“[This girl] was a child herself and she went through terrible, terrible things, there was a lot of violence involved, and she was 13 years old – that’s Grade 7 – can you imagine?”

To mark the 10th annual National Victims of Crime Awareness Week, the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association screened the documentary on Tuesday afternoon at the John Dutton Theatre.

Read More: http://metronews.ca/news/calgary/1346815/calgary-documentary-says-forced-marriages-arent-too-far-from-home/

Our Film About ‘Honor Violence’ Should Not Be Censored

Last Sunday, a group of students at the University of South Dakota planned to attend a screening of our film, Honor Diaries, a documentary focused on the abuses women face under the honor system.

The film follows the stories of nine women’s rights activists — of Christian, Sikh, and Muslim backgrounds — as they tackle the taboo surrounding honor-based violence: murders in the name of honor, forced and early marriage, and female genital mutilation (FGM).

The film has won awards at multiple film festivals, been screened at the UK House of Commons, Amnesty International, and the UN in New York and Geneva, as well as hundreds of universities across the countries. But the students in South Dakota never got a chance to watch the film. They were not given the platform to explore its issues, celebrate its women, or become empowered by its message. A professor at the university who supports the film called it “stealth repression” that the film screening was mysteriously canceled. Organizers of another Honor Diaries screening, scheduled for April 10 at the university, have been under steady attack and pressure to do the same. Fortunately, they are holding out and standing strong in the name of freedom of expression, human rights and women’s empowerment.

Read More: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/raheel-raza/honor-diaries_b_6968630.html

How One Woman Escaped Forced Marriage and Thrived

“Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it,” said Nelson Mandela. Nasreen Sheikh is, undoubtedly, one of the most courageous people I have ever met. She is a social entrepreneur living in Nepal and is subverting the typical role of a woman in her society. She is changing the lives of dozens of women in Nepal and has a goal to help hundreds more. This is Nasreen’s story.

At 23 years of age, Nasreen Sheikh radically redefines what it means to be a Nepali woman. She is a Sunni Muslim living in a predominately Hindu community and is the founder of a fair-trade sewing collective called Local Women’s Handicrafts, based in the country’s capital of Kathmandu. The company sells bags, scarves, wallets and shirts; and only employs women from disadvantaged backgrounds. The business focuses on empowering and educating women with the intent to change the cultural and social norms in Nepal.

Read More: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/katie-zeppieri/forced-marriage-nepal_b_6489510.html

London man convicted of killing ex-partner and baby daughter

A “monstrous” father has been jailed for 35 years, after being found guilty of hacking to death his former long-term partner and their 22-month-old baby daughter, on the day he was supposed to move out of the family home.

Roland McKoy, 53, of Hackney, east London, inflicted horrific injuries on Valerie Forde, 45, his partner of 18 years, and their youngest child, Real-Jahzara, out of “spite and resentment” at being told he should leave. Their screams were heard by Forde’s eldest daughter, Carrise, 28, who listened via telephone, powerless as he attacked them with a machete, hammer and screwdriver.

Any report of a threat to life made to police by a partner should automatically trigger a risk assessment model, known as Domestic Abuse, Stalking and Honour Based violence (Dash) identifier, introduced in 2009 to manage risk and ultimately, to save lives. It takes into account the history of the relationship including previous threats.

 

Read more:http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/dec/17/london-man-convicted-killing-ex-partner-baby-daughter-roland-mckoy

Founder of the Freedom Charity, Aneeta Prem, visited Leyton Sixth Form College students to discuss forced marriage

A charity founder, human rights campaigner and author has spoken to sixth form students about the dangers of forced marriage.

Aneeta Prem, leader of Freedom Charity, visited Leyton Sixth Form College on Friday to highlight the horrific treatment of some girls at the hands of their families. MP John Cryer was also in the audience.

Ms Prem’s charity Freedom believes forced marriage is a hidden problem within the UK and that the figures given by government are under-representing the problem.

She said: “Dishonour abuse looms larger than ever with female infanticide, domestic violence on the rise and forced marriage affecting young men and women.

 

Read More: http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/wfnews/11667854.Charity_founder_warns_students_about_forced_marriage/

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