Her Father Shot Her in the Head, as an ‘Honor Killing’

[MariaThinks]

Source: NY TImes

WHETHER it wins or not, the Oscar nominee with the greatest impact — saving lives of perhaps thousands of girls — may be one you’ve never heard of.

It stars not Leonardo DiCaprio but a real-life 19-year-old Pakistani woman named Saba Qaiser. Her odyssey began when she fell in love against her family’s wishes and ran off to marry her boyfriend. Hours after the marriage, her father and uncle sweet-talked her into their car and took her to a spot along a riverbank to murder her for her defiance — an “honor killing.”

First they beat Saba, then her uncle held her as her own father pointed a pistol at her head and pulled the trigger. Blood spewed, Saba collapsed and her father and uncle packed her body into a large sack and threw it into the river to sink. They then drove away, thinking they had restored the family’s good name.

Incredibly, Saba was unconscious but alive. She had jerked her head as the gun went off, and the bullet tore through the left side of her face but didn’t kill her. The river water revived her, and she clawed her way out of the sack and crawled onto land. She staggered toward a gasoline station, and someone called for help.

About every 90 minutes, an honor killing unfolds somewhere in the world, usually in a Muslim country. Pakistan alone has more than 1,000 a year, and the killers often go unpunished.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/opinion/sunday/her-father-shot-her-in-the-head-as-an-honor-killing.html?WT.mc_id=2016-FEBRUARY-OTB-INTL_AUD_DEV-0201-0229&WT.mc_ev=click&ad-keywords=IntlAudDev&_r=0

[lark]

1. I'd never visit either India or Pakistan.

They are terribly unsafe for women, heinous countries where women's lives mean nothing and men's every wish is everything. I wouldn't contribute one dime to either place. Don't know why the US doesn't take a stand against these travesties? Guess outsourcing $$ for the big 1% corporations is more important to the PTB.

[maddiemom]

2. The situation is dicey as to any outside interference in the actual country.

However, such barbaric treatment of women in other countries (including U.S.) by the men of nations which condone it, does occur. In those situations the perpetrators should always be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and the case should be made very public to call attention to the outrage.

[trillion]

3. Yep.

I turned down a job as I was signing the hiring docs because they told me I had to travel to data centers in Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Mid East at least twice a year.

When I said I couldn't go to any country that suppresses womens rights the two guys hiring me went off on me for wasting their time and said they'd report me to unemployment for refusing a job.

When I called unemployment the woman agreed with me and said it wasn't a problem. The main guy threatening me ended up losing his job after I told the head hunting agency that found me the job and sent them a detailed letter explaining what happened, which they forwarded to the guys boss. I have since added countries to my list of wouldn't visit because of hostility toward women.

[LongTomH]

4. Good on ya', Mate!!!!!

After I lost my programming job, one of my former co-workers suggested I send a resume to Tata - the Indian company that handles most of the outsourcing. They do hire a token number of US workers.

I refused!!!!!

[chervilant]

6. Thank you for your bravery

and your advocacy for women's rights.

[Arazi]

5. And they forced her to apologize to her father!!!

That culture is fucked up!!!