The Post story talks about the four women found murdered in Kingston and how it may have been an 'honour' killing.
So I thought, well, what's the difference? (Ignoring the number killed). If a woman is killed for insurance money or for 'honour' she's still dead.
But then I thought a bit more.
Killing a spouse for insurance is brutal and monstrous but it is only focussed on the deceased.
Honour killing kills the deceased and threatens all others. In effect, honour killing is a form of terrorism -- using violence as theatre to intimidate others.
Now, it may be that this story is not about honour killing -- it may be just an ordinary multiple murder (say for insurance or who knows what). And that is dreadful enough. But if it's intended to say 'Afghan women, you may live in Canada but if you behave like you're free -- watch out' then the crime is even worse. (And of course, the threat is not directed only to 'Afghan women').
Full story: http://www.nationalpost.com/m/story.html?id=1820323&s=Home
Family's plans to murder daughters, first wife hatched months before: police
Paul Cherry, National Post
Wednesday, Jul 22, 2009
KINGSTON -- A Montreal couple allegedly began making plans to kill their three daughters, along with the husband's first wife, weeks before the bodies of all four victims were found in a car submerged in the Rideau Canal.
Mohammad Shafia, 56, his wife Tooba Mohammad Yahya, 39, and their eldest son Hamed Shafia, 18, all face first-degree murder charges in the deaths which came to light after a Nissan Sentra was discovered in the canal near the Kingston Mills Locks. Conspiracy charges filed at the Kingston courthouse Thursday reveal investigators believe plans to commit the murders were hatched as far back as May 1.
The small detail in the indictment added yet another twist in a story that only becomes stranger at each turn.
A relative of the couple has told reporters she believes the murders were carried out as so-called honour killings. The Kingston police confirmed Thursday that Rona Amir Mohammad was Mohammad Shafia's first wife and that he was also married to Yahya. A relative who sent an anonymous email to The Gazette alleged that Shafia was "disgraced" by his daughters' behaviour in Canada and that he wanted his first wife to return to Canada while hiding the fact they were married. The author of the email said Shafia married Yahya as his second wife because Mohammad could not have children .
...
The Kingston police refused to comment on the possibility the murders were carried out as so-called honour killings. However, Chief Steven Tanner began the press conference by describing the deaths as "senseless and needless loss of innocent life. The four victims in this case, three of which were teenage girls all shared the rights within our great country to live without fear, to enjoy safety and security and to exercise freedom of choice and expression and had their lives cut short by their own family."
When later asked to elaborate on the statement Tanner said he couldn't because the case is now before the courts.
The Kingston police were able to say they completely disbelieve Shafia and Yahya's theory of how the car might have ended up in the canal.
...
The Kingston police refused to divulge how the four victims were killed.
...
James Morton
1100-5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
416 225 2777
8 comments:
You don't get it. ALL VIOLENCE BY MEN AGAINST WOMEN IS TERRORISM. The male dominated class struggle is premissed on
I hate to break it to you, Fury. James isn't the enemy here.
And I think he gets it.
I think you ought to go after the real issue instead of castigating James here.
Whatever. I just see it's more Muslims killing each other
As many as 5,000 women and girls lose their lives -- most at the hands of family members -- in "honour killings" around the world each year, according to the United Nations.
Up to a dozen have died for the same reason in Canada in the last decade, and it's happening more often, says Amin Muhammad, a psychiatrist who studies honour killings at Memorial University in Newfoundland.
"There are a number of organizations which don't accept the idea of honour killing; they say it's a Western-propagated myth by the media, but it's not true," he says. "Honour killing is there, and we should acknowledge it, and Canada should take it seriously."
Kingston, Ont., police are now investigating that as a motive in the deaths of three teenage sisters and an older female relative who were found in a car submerged in the Rideau Canal in Kingston on June 30. The girls' mother, father and brother were arrested on Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder.
"In our Canadian society, we value the cultural values of everyone that makes up this great country, and some of us have different core beliefs, different family values, different sets of rules," Kingston Police Chief Stephen Tanner said at a news conference on Thursday. "Certainly, these individuals -- in particular, the three teenagers -- were Canadian teenagers who have all the freedom and rights of expression of all Canadians."
He added that he'd received an e-mail from an extended family member of the girls, suggesting honour killing was to blame for their deaths.
Honour killings can be sparked by a woman talking to a man, having a boyfriend, wearing makeup or revealing clothing, or even seeking a divorce, says Diana Nammi, founder of the London-based International Campaign Against Honour Killings. Ms. Nammi, originally from Iran, says children of immigrants who grow up inwestern nations take those freedoms for granted, which can throw them into conflict with their parents' rigid standards.
"When people are moving to another country, they leave everything they have, all their possessions, behind. But what they can bring with them is what they believe, their culture, their traditions, their religion," she says. "Unfortunately, they are choosing to show the worst part of that, and the worst and criminal part of that is controlling women."
One of the earliest honour killings involving a Canadian occurred in 2000, when Maple Ridge, B.C., resident Jaswinder Sidhu was murdered in India in what police called a contract killing, after she married a man she met while travelling.
In 2003, Amandeep Atwal, 17, died after her father stabbed her 17 times. The Kitimat, B.C., teen had been secretly seeing a boyfriend.
Sixteen-year-old Aqsa Parvez's father and brother are currently awaiting trial for her strangulation death in 2007, and friends said the Brampton, Ont., teen had been clashing with her family over her refusal to wear the hijab.
In May, an Ottawa man was sentenced to life in prison for killing his sister, Khatera Sadiqi, 20, and her fiance.
"We cannot say there's a huge number of cases, but now the cases are increasing, and very soon we'll have a problem in Canada," says Mr. Muhammad.
Men occasionally die in honour killings, he says, but young women are almost always the victims in western countries.
Honour killing is most prevalent in nations with large Muslim populations.
"A few women are really sacrificed to terrorize all women, to push them into submission, where they are not in the position to defend themselves or even their daughters or sisters," says Aysan Ms. Sev'er, a professor of sociology at University of Toronto Scarborough.
As many as 5,000 women and girls lose their lives -- most at the hands of family members -- in "honour killings" around the world each year, according to the United Nations.
Up to a dozen have died for the same reason in Canada in the last decade, and it's happening more often, says Amin Muhammad, a psychiatrist who studies honour killings at Memorial University in Newfoundland.
"There are a number of organizations which don't accept the idea of honour killing; they say it's a Western-propagated myth by the media, but it's not true," he says. "Honour killing is there, and we should acknowledge it, and Canada should take it seriously."
Kingston, Ont., police are now investigating that as a motive in the deaths of three teenage sisters and an older female relative who were found in a car submerged in the Rideau Canal in Kingston on June 30. The girls' mother, father and brother were arrested on Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder.
"In our Canadian society, we value the cultural values of everyone that makes up this great country, and some of us have different core beliefs, different family values, different sets of rules," Kingston Police Chief Stephen Tanner said at a news conference on Thursday. "Certainly, these individuals -- in particular, the three teenagers -- were Canadian teenagers who have all the freedom and rights of expression of all Canadians."
He added that he'd received an e-mail from an extended family member of the girls, suggesting honour killing was to blame for their deaths.
Honour killings can be sparked by a woman talking to a man, having a boyfriend, wearing makeup or revealing clothing, or even seeking a divorce, says Diana Nammi, founder of the London-based International Campaign Against Honour Killings. Ms. Nammi, originally from Iran, says children of immigrants who grow up inwestern nations take those freedoms for granted, which can throw them into conflict with their parents' rigid standards.
"When people are moving to another country, they leave everything they have, all their possessions, behind. But what they can bring with them is what they believe, their culture, their traditions, their religion," she says. "Unfortunately, they are choosing to show the worst part of that, and the worst and criminal part of that is controlling women."
One of the earliest honour killings involving a Canadian occurred in 2000, when Maple Ridge, B.C., resident Jaswinder Sidhu was murdered in India in what police called a contract killing, after she married a man she met while travelling.
In 2003, Amandeep Atwal, 17, died after her father stabbed her 17 times. The Kitimat, B.C., teen had been secretly seeing a boyfriend.
Sixteen-year-old Aqsa Parvez's father and brother are currently awaiting trial for her strangulation death in 2007, and friends said the Brampton, Ont., teen had been clashing with her family over her refusal to wear the hijab.
In May, an Ottawa man was sentenced to life in prison for killing his sister, Khatera Sadiqi, 20, and her fiance.
"We cannot say there's a huge number of cases, but now the cases are increasing, and very soon we'll have a problem in Canada," says Mr. Muhammad.
Men occasionally die in honour killings, he says, but young women are almost always the victims in western countries.
Honour killing is most prevalent in nations with large Muslim populations.
"A few women are really sacrificed to terrorize all women, to push them into submission, where they are not in the position to defend themselves or even their daughters or sisters," says Aysan Ms. Sev'er, a professor of sociology at University of Toronto Scarborough.
As many as 5,000 women and girls lose their lives -- most at the hands of family members -- in "honour killings" around the world each year, according to the United Nations.
Up to a dozen have died for the same reason in Canada in the last decade, and it's happening more often, says Amin Muhammad, a psychiatrist who studies honour killings at Memorial University in Newfoundland.
"There are a number of organizations which don't accept the idea of honour killing; they say it's a Western-propagated myth by the media, but it's not true," he says. "Honour killing is there, and we should acknowledge it, and Canada should take it seriously."
Kingston, Ont., police are now investigating that as a motive in the deaths of three teenage sisters and an older female relative who were found in a car submerged in the Rideau Canal in Kingston on June 30. The girls' mother, father and brother were arrested on Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder.
"In our Canadian society, we value the cultural values of everyone that makes up this great country, and some of us have different core beliefs, different family values, different sets of rules," Kingston Police Chief Stephen Tanner said at a news conference on Thursday. "Certainly, these individuals -- in particular, the three teenagers -- were Canadian teenagers who have all the freedom and rights of expression of all Canadians."
He added that he'd received an e-mail from an extended family member of the girls, suggesting honour killing was to blame for their deaths.
Honour killings can be sparked by a woman talking to a man, having a boyfriend, wearing makeup or revealing clothing, or even seeking a divorce, says Diana Nammi, founder of the London-based International Campaign Against Honour Killings. Ms. Nammi, originally from Iran, says children of immigrants who grow up inwestern nations take those freedoms for granted, which can throw them into conflict with their parents' rigid standards.
"When people are moving to another country, they leave everything they have, all their possessions, behind. But what they can bring with them is what they believe, their culture, their traditions, their religion," she says. "Unfortunately, they are choosing to show the worst part of that, and the worst and criminal part of that is controlling women."
One of the earliest honour killings involving a Canadian occurred in 2000, when Maple Ridge, B.C., resident Jaswinder Sidhu was murdered in India in what police called a contract killing, after she married a man she met while travelling.
In 2003, Amandeep Atwal, 17, died after her father stabbed her 17 times. The Kitimat, B.C., teen had been secretly seeing a boyfriend.
Sixteen-year-old Aqsa Parvez's father and brother are currently awaiting trial for her strangulation death in 2007, and friends said the Brampton, Ont., teen had been clashing with her family over her refusal to wear the hijab.
In May, an Ottawa man was sentenced to life in prison for killing his sister, Khatera Sadiqi, 20, and her fiance.
"We cannot say there's a huge number of cases, but now the cases are increasing, and very soon we'll have a problem in Canada," says Mr. Muhammad.
Men occasionally die in honour killings, he says, but young women are almost always the victims in western countries.
Honour killing is most prevalent in nations with large Muslim populations.
"A few women are really sacrificed to terrorize all women, to push them into submission, where they are not in the position to defend themselves or even their daughters or sisters," says Aysan Ms. Sev'er, a professor of sociology at University of Toronto Scarborough.
As many as 5,000 women and girls lose their lives -- most at the hands of family members -- in "honour killings" around the world each year, according to the United Nations.
Up to a dozen have died for the same reason in Canada in the last decade, and it's happening more often, says Amin Muhammad, a psychiatrist who studies honour killings at Memorial University in Newfoundland.
"There are a number of organizations which don't accept the idea of honour killing; they say it's a Western-propagated myth by the media, but it's not true," he says. "Honour killing is there, and we should acknowledge it, and Canada should take it seriously."
Kingston, Ont., police are now investigating that as a motive in the deaths of three teenage sisters and an older female relative who were found in a car submerged in the Rideau Canal in Kingston on June 30. The girls' mother, father and brother were arrested on Wednesday and charged with first-degree murder.
"In our Canadian society, we value the cultural values of everyone that makes up this great country, and some of us have different core beliefs, different family values, different sets of rules," Kingston Police Chief Stephen Tanner said at a news conference on Thursday. "Certainly, these individuals -- in particular, the three teenagers -- were Canadian teenagers who have all the freedom and rights of expression of all Canadians."
He added that he'd received an e-mail from an extended family member of the girls, suggesting honour killing was to blame for their deaths.
Honour killings can be sparked by a woman talking to a man, having a boyfriend, wearing makeup or revealing clothing, or even seeking a divorce, says Diana Nammi, founder of the London-based International Campaign Against Honour Killings. Ms. Nammi, originally from Iran, says children of immigrants who grow up inwestern nations take those freedoms for granted, which can throw them into conflict with their parents' rigid standards.
"When people are moving to another country, they leave everything they have, all their possessions, behind. But what they can bring with them is what they believe, their culture, their traditions, their religion," she says. "Unfortunately, they are choosing to show the worst part of that, and the worst and criminal part of that is controlling women."
One of the earliest honour killings involving a Canadian occurred in 2000, when Maple Ridge, B.C., resident Jaswinder Sidhu was murdered in India in what police called a contract killing, after she married a man she met while travelling.
In 2003, Amandeep Atwal, 17, died after her father stabbed her 17 times. The Kitimat, B.C., teen had been secretly seeing a boyfriend.
Sixteen-year-old Aqsa Parvez's father and brother are currently awaiting trial for her strangulation death in 2007, and friends said the Brampton, Ont., teen had been clashing with her family over her refusal to wear the hijab.
In May, an Ottawa man was sentenced to life in prison for killing his sister, Khatera Sadiqi, 20, and her fiance.
"We cannot say there's a huge number of cases, but now the cases are increasing, and very soon we'll have a problem in Canada," says Mr. Muhammad.
Men occasionally die in honour killings, he says, but young women are almost always the victims in western countries.
Honour killing is most prevalent in nations with large Muslim populations.
"A few women are really sacrificed to terrorize all women, to push them into submission, where they are not in the position to defend themselves or even their daughters or sisters," says Aysan Ms. Sev'er, a professor of sociology at University of Toronto Scarborough.
I wonder how they selected the girls. A fifteen year old girl was spared.
It must be difficult for those other children now under state care.
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