Woman killed for marrying for love
Print Edition
THE husband of a pregnant Pakistani woman who was brutally beaten to death outside Lahore’s High Court for marrying him against her family’s wishes vowed to fight for justice.
Farzana Iqbal, 25, was attacked outside Lahore’s high court building by more than two dozen brick-wielding assailants including her brothers and father, who has been arrested, police said.
A postmortem established that she was five months pregnant.
Farzana Iqbal had gone to testify in defence of her husband Muhammad Iqbal, the man she loved but was accused by her relatives of kidnapping her and forcing her into the marriage.
“We demand justice, we were being threatened since we got married,” Iqbal said.
The 45-year-old said he and his wife had survived a previous attack during the first hearing of the case on May 12.
“On Tuesday as we were going to court from our lawyer’s office almost 30 people attacked us, including her father, brothers and cousins,” he said.
The group of 10 or so people accompanying him were overwhelmed by the suddenness of the attack and fled in all directions, he said.
“One of her brothers shot at her but missed, then the women in their group fell upon her and her brother and father finished her off,” he added, distressed.
Police have arrested Farzana’s father Muhammad Azeem and are seeking five others — two brothers and three cousins.
Despite its gruesome and public nature in Pakistan’s most liberal city, reaction in the media has been relatively muted, indicating a growing apathy within society amid rising extremism, said activists.
Last year 869 women died in so-called “honor killings,” according to the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Conviction rates are very low.
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