Magic Statistics

Two young Arab women in Israel have been shot, one fatally, in suspected honour killings.

An 18-year-old was shot dead in her home in Ramla, south of Tel Aviv.  The unknown assailant escaped, but she had received death threats from family members in the recent past.  Police believe she was killed for offending family honour.

Investigators who arrived at the scene of the crime immediately recognized the girl, as she had been staying in a women's shelter until about a year ago.
 
Threats were recently made on the girl's life by her family members. When she turned 18, she decided to move back in with her family.

Police detained several of her relatives for interrogation.

The other attack was definitely an honour crime.  The teenager was shot by her older brother, who was then “warmly greeted, hugged and congratulated” by his family.

Police investigators noted that the attempted murder was meticulously planned. The youth had informed his family members that he was going to murder his sister early Tuesday morning, and then set off to do just that. He headed to the entrance of the village in a vehicle which he had borrowed from his brother, and awaited his sister’s arrival.
 
The youth then shot his sister, who was startled to see him and proceeded to kick her repeatedly in order to ensure that she was no longer alive.

He shot her and then kicked her repeatedly.  That’s the way to preserve family honour.

The girl underwent surgery for head injuries.  It is still too early to tell whether or to what extent she will recover.  The shooter is in police custody.

Previous related posts:

• Fight the culture of forced marriages and honour killings
• UK Muslim leader “certain” Shafilea victim of honour killing
• Jordanian man forces daughter to have abortion, then kills her

Discovery Of Earth's Inner, Innermost Core Confirmed — Science Daily, 10 March

The nasty fall of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer would make a very juicy ripped-from-the-headlines episode on TV’s longest-running crime series. I’m betting on a two-part season premiere this fall.

So, who will be murdered (on the hypothetical TV show, that is)? The foolish and arrogant governor? The long-suffering wife who’s finally had enough of his philandering? I think the most likely victim would be the high-priced call girl.

The disclosure last week that 33 pupils in Bradford, England, are missing and unaccounted for was just the tip of the iceberg. It has now been revealed that over 2000 children who should be in school are not. Dr Nazia Khanum, a management consultant hired by the UK Home Office infers that 3000 or more have been forced to marry.

"The forced marriage unit deal with 300 hardcore cases a year. If you follow the examples of rape and domestic violence, where only 10 per cent to 12 per cent of cases are reported, it's a reasonable assumption it is the tip of the iceberg."

Conservative Muslim peer Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, shadow minister for community cohesion and social action, has urged that forced marriage be explicitly outlawed in the UK.  She does not regard cultural differences as a valid reason to turn a blind eye.

"This is not a culturally sensitive issue, this is an abhorrent act which we must stand together on."

The Yorkshire Post recalls Roy Honeyford, a Bradford school headteacher in the early 1980s, who foresaw that catering to various ethnic minorities in school would foster social divisions.  He was vilified and ostracised for his troubles.

He wanted to improve integration but was branded a racist and forced out of his job, taking early retirement in 1985 to protect his family. And since then, the argument goes, Bradford has been so scared of being seen as politically incorrect that it simply ignores the elephant in the room that is forced marriage.

Ann Cryer, MP for Keighley, has long been a lone voice in the wilderness campaigning for justice for victims of forced marriage - so much so that she faced expulsion by Bradford's Labour councillors for embarrassing the party.

She said: "Bradford has always been a hotbed of political correctness. Since Honeyford, it has been seen as unacceptable to criticise anyone from the Asian community. They've failed to recognise that in order to protect vulnerable members of the community you have to take on the community leaders.

More British politicians are beginning to get their heads out of the sand but, apparently, it's already too late for the thousands forced to marry against their will.

The graphic at the top of the post comes from a public awareness poster put out by the Forced Marriage Unit of the British Government's Foreign and Commomnwealth Office.  Their leaflet, "What Is A Forced Marriage?", is posted here (pdf).

The Yorkshire Post article excerpted above is well worth reading in full.

Previous related posts:

• Fight the culture of forced marriages and honour killings
• Muslim women in the West victimised by fundamentalist Islam
• Honour killings come to the West
• Can multiculturalism and women's rights co-exist?