A Pakistani teenager was burnt alive by her
mother on Wednesday after marrying a man of
her own choice, police said, the latest in a string
of so-called "honour killings" in the country.
Zeenat Bibi, 16, was set on fire by her mother
Perveen Bibi in the eastern city of Lahore a little
more than a week after the wedding, police said.
"Perveen Bibi killed her daughter Zeenat Bibi by
burning her alive around 9:00 am on Wednesday,"
Haidar Ashraf, a senior police official told AFP,
adding the teen had married a man named
Hasan on May 29.
It was the third such "honour killing" in as many
months.
Last week, 19-year-old Maria Sadaqat was
tortured and burned by a group of people in a
village close to the holiday resort of Murree,
outside the capital Islamabad, for refusing a
marriage proposal from the son of a former
colleague.
Another woman believed to be aged between 16
and 18 was drugged, strangled and her body
burnt on the orders of a village jirga (council) in
northwest Pakistan on April 29, allegedly for
helping a friend to elope with her lover.
Zeenat's husband Hasan told local TV station
Geo News that the pair had eloped, but he had
reluctantly allowed her to return to her family
home after they promised they would hold a
celebration and not harm her.
He said: "After living with me for four days
following our marriage, her family contacted us
and promised they would throw us a proper
wedding party after eight days then we could live
together.
"Zeenat was unwilling to go back to her home
and told me that she would be killed by her
family but later agreed when one of her uncles
guaranteed her safety.
"After two days, she called me and said that her
family had gone back on their word and asked
me to come get her, but I told her to wait for
the promised eight days. Then, she was killed."
Ashraf, the police official, said Perveen and other
family members had confessed to the crime and
that police had seized kerosene oil from the
scene.
Another senior police official confirmed the
details of the killing.
Hundreds of women are murdered by their
relatives in Pakistan each year on the pretext of
defending what is seen as family honour.
"A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness"
a film telling the story of a rare survivor of an
attempted honour killing
documentary short in February.
Amid publicity for the film, Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif vowed to eradicate the "evil" of honour
killings but no fresh legislation has been tabled
since then.
mother on Wednesday after marrying a man of
her own choice, police said, the latest in a string
of so-called "honour killings" in the country.
Zeenat Bibi, 16, was set on fire by her mother
Perveen Bibi in the eastern city of Lahore a little
more than a week after the wedding, police said.
"Perveen Bibi killed her daughter Zeenat Bibi by
burning her alive around 9:00 am on Wednesday,"
Haidar Ashraf, a senior police official told AFP,
adding the teen had married a man named
Hasan on May 29.
It was the third such "honour killing" in as many
months.
Last week, 19-year-old Maria Sadaqat was
tortured and burned by a group of people in a
village close to the holiday resort of Murree,
outside the capital Islamabad, for refusing a
marriage proposal from the son of a former
colleague.
Another woman believed to be aged between 16
and 18 was drugged, strangled and her body
burnt on the orders of a village jirga (council) in
northwest Pakistan on April 29, allegedly for
helping a friend to elope with her lover.
Zeenat's husband Hasan told local TV station
Geo News that the pair had eloped, but he had
reluctantly allowed her to return to her family
home after they promised they would hold a
celebration and not harm her.
He said: "After living with me for four days
following our marriage, her family contacted us
and promised they would throw us a proper
wedding party after eight days then we could live
together.
"Zeenat was unwilling to go back to her home
and told me that she would be killed by her
family but later agreed when one of her uncles
guaranteed her safety.
"After two days, she called me and said that her
family had gone back on their word and asked
me to come get her, but I told her to wait for
the promised eight days. Then, she was killed."
Ashraf, the police official, said Perveen and other
family members had confessed to the crime and
that police had seized kerosene oil from the
scene.
Another senior police official confirmed the
details of the killing.
Hundreds of women are murdered by their
relatives in Pakistan each year on the pretext of
defending what is seen as family honour.
"A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness"
a film telling the story of a rare survivor of an
attempted honour killing
documentary short in February.
Amid publicity for the film, Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif vowed to eradicate the "evil" of honour
killings but no fresh legislation has been tabled
since then.
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