A pregnant Pakistani woman was stoned to death by her family because she married the man she loved.
Farzana Parveen, recently married and three months pregnant, was killed by her family before a crowd of onlookers right in front of the high court of Lahore. She was attacked by nearly 20 of her own family members, who struck her and her husband with bricks and batons. Although her husband lived, Parveen died from the attack.
Police official Naseem Butt said the 25 year old Farzana Parveen had married 45 year old Mohammad Iqbal recently after years of being engaged. Farzana’s family was deeply against the marriage, with her father even filing an abduction case against her husband.
Relatives of Farzana waited outside the courthouse for her to appear. When she finally walked by with Iqbal, her family fired shots into the air and tried to snatch her away. Farzana refused, and her family began beating her and throwing bricks from a nearby construction site.
A devastated Iqbal explained how the family wanted to take money from him before Farzan married him. He choose to instead simply take her to court and marry her.
“We were in love,” he told officials.
Farzan’s father admitted to the crime, and called the deed an “honor killing.”
Unfortunately, this type of case is not out of the ordinary in Pakistan. Hundreds, if not thousands, of women are killed each year due to so-called “honor killings.” These “honor killings” are carried out by either husbands or relatives when a woman is suspected of illicit sexual behavior or adultery.
Many of the killers are usually let free, if arrested at all. Pakistani law allows for family members to nominate someone to do the killing, and then can legally forgive the killer. It is a huge flaw in the system, and will hopefully be amended in the future.
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