Day: August 24, 2009

Pakistan: Suspected “Honor Killing” of Pregnant Wife, Two Teenage Daughters

— Pakistan Daily Times: “Man kills pregnant wife, 2 daughters”
— “KARACHI: An unemployed man escaped after killing his pregnant wife and two daughters including an adopted niece on Sunday within the limits of Sarjani Town police station. Police officials suspect that the man killed them as an honour killing.”
— “The incident took place during the early morning hours at around 6:40 am at their house No 154 located at Abdul Raheem Goth. Police discovered the bodies after the culprit’s brother, namely Manzoor who resides in their neighbourhood informed them about the incident. ‘Manzoor informed us an hour after the incident took place,’ said SHO Ghayyur Akhtar. The bodies were then shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for legal formalities.”
— “The deceased included Wazira Bibi, 38, wife of Abdul Rasheed, her daughter Aasma, 14 and adopted daughter Aasfa, 16, daughter of Ghulam Rasool. According to the initial investigation, police officials suspect that the culprit Rasheed killed them as an honour killing. SHO Ghayyur Akhtar said that the man shot his wife first as he probably thought that she had illicit relations with someone and then he shot the girls when they tried to save their mother. A repeater gun was used in the killing and all the three victims died on the spot, the officer added. The woman was nine months pregnant and three of his sons and three of his daughters were at a relative’s house when the incident took place. The officer further said that the 45-year-old culprit hails from Panu Aqil, Punjab and is a driver by profession but was unemployed since a long time. Earlier, he had been arrested and locked up over domestic violence after he shot his sister, who was wounded in the attack.”

Egypt: Christian Convert and Daughter Fugitives from Wrath of Extremists

LA Times: “A Christian on the run in Egypt”
— LA Times reports: “Maher El Gohary is something his Muslim compatriots can’t fathom: a convert to Christianity. He and his daughter live like fugitives, moving frequently to avoid those who’d like to see him dead.”
— “It is a clear day along the coast, but in a bungalow off the beach, Maher El Gohary sits behind a locked door with an open Bible and a crystal cross, suspicious of every voice and sandal scraping past outside.”
— “He and his daughter, Dina, live like refugees, switching apartments every few months, not wanting to get close to neighbors. Gohary’s life has been threatened, his dogs have been killed, and it’s been suggested that he’s insane or possessed by spirits.”
— “He is a man this Muslim nation cannot fathom: a convert to Christianity.”
— “Islamists believe that Muslims who forsake their religion should be punished by death.”

Russian Prime Minster Putin Supports Chechen Extremist Kadyrov Who Defends “Honor Killings”

— Reuters:  “Putin dashes to Chechnya, shows support for Kadyrov”
— “Vladimir Putin visited Russia’s restive Chechnya region on Monday, showing support for a local leader accused by rights groups of abuses and demonstrating Moscow’s presence in a mainly Muslim region racked by violence.”
— March 1, 2009: Russia: Chechen President Kadyrov defends extremist “honor killings” — says women deserve to die
— April 10, 2009: Russia/Chechnya – Extremist Kadyrov Justifies Polygamy, Calls for “Honor Killings” Against Women Who Are “Promiscuous”

The Women’s Crusade

The Women’s Crusade

— “IN THE 19TH CENTURY, the paramount moral challenge was slavery. In the 20th century, it was totalitarianism. In this century, it is the brutality inflicted on so many women and girls around the globe: sex trafficking, acid attacks, bride burnings and mass rape.”
— “This study found that 39,000 baby girls died annually in China because parents didn’t give them the same medical care and attention that boys received — and that was just in the first year of life. A result is that as many infant girls died unnecessarily every week in China as protesters died at Tiananmen Square.”
— “The global statistics on the abuse of girls are numbing. It appears that more girls and women are now missing from the planet, precisely because they are female, than men were killed on the battlefield in all the wars of the 20th century. The number of victims of this routine ‘gendercide’ far exceeds the number of people who were slaughtered in all the genocides of the 20th century.”
— “Bill Gates recalls once being invited to speak in Saudi Arabia and finding himself facing a segregated audience. Four-fifths of the listeners were men, on the left. The remaining one-fifth were women, all covered in black cloaks and veils, on the right. A partition separated the two groups. Toward the end, in the question-and-answer session, a member of the audience noted that Saudi Arabia aimed to be one of the Top 10 countries in the world in technology by 2010 and asked if that was realistic. ‘Well, if you’re not fully utilizing half the talent in the country,’ Gates said, ‘you’re not going to get too close to the Top 10.’ The small group on the right erupted in wild cheering.”