Hanna, a British Indian, is in a women's refuge this weekend, 100 miles from the parents and sister who have threatened to kill her as retribution for her refusal to leave her white boyfriend. Yet the 28-year-old feels anything but safe. So convinced is she that her family will seek her out there, that she has sent a detailed email account of her ordeal to police and friends "just in case things turn out for the worst".

 

"My dad... reminded me of an article that was in last week's press about a Muslim family honour killing - he told me to remember that he was brave enough to do anything," she tells a friend in one of the series of emails,

 

"My father said that he would rather kill someone and then die himself... than have anyone shame the family in name."

so-called "honour killings" - a crime the extent of which remains unclear. The United Nations suggests that 5,000 women a year die worldwide - that is equivalent to 13 a day. In Britain, police put the rate at one a month.

 

But support groups believe the true figure is much higher, and rising. They point to the suicide rate among Asian women aged 16-24, which is three times the national average, and believe many of those are driven to kill themselves either in shame or in fear .

 

How can these be stopped? This me common in far away lands but surely not in this country.

 

That's awful, and rediculous that a parent could kill their own child because of who she is with. These families dont seem to actually care about the child, just the family name.

That's awful, and rediculous that a parent could kill their own child because of who she is with. These families dont seem to actually care about the child, just the family name.

 

FULL TRUTH

This is horrifying. How can any parent put their status in their community before their child. It must be so hard for these young girls, they see the freedom that other girls in this country have and they reject the idea of an arranged marriage. I'm sorry, but what do their parents expect? Every parent should want their child to be happy regardless of their religion or culture.

Regardless of whether he's Indian, that's repulsive.

 

But in the defence of most Indians, he's probably fanatical Muslim Indian. I don't think any Hindu Indians or Catholic Indians would ever consider honour killings.

Edited June 18, 200718 yr by Oral Fixation