Love Can Get You Stoned to Death in Pakistan

The barbaric custom in Pakistan and some other Muslim countries of "honor killing" to save a family's reputation is, perhaps, the worst aspect. Even those who live in countries where this tradition exists still, if modern, are sickened by such murders. For the most part, these killings are among the uneducated skewed by Muslim old customs and traditions that have no place in the 21st century, if they did at any point in time.

This honor killing is even more repugnant, disgusting, vile. It involves a man and woman who were in love. Her male lover, Mohammed Iqbal said before she died was, "We were in love". This killing occurred in the city of Lahore, Pakistan outside of the courtroom. Lahore is huge and where were the police? Did they just turn their backs? Do all Pakistanis agree with this custom? Are they all afraid to intervene?

Honor killings are a face saving thing for families whose members have committed adultery or for having illicit sex. If a family has completed an arrange marriage forcing a couple to marry for the benefit of the family-usually money, when they are not in love, they might be killed by their own family members to save their honor and reputation. It is hard to believe that it occurs in an urban environment in public.

This stoning is rare for it being done in public, near the courthouse. Farzana Parveen, 25, and Mohammed Iqbal, 45, were in love secretly, but when her father had arranged a marriage to another man whom Farzana felt nothing for, the couple in love secretly got married anyway. But, it was not like Farzana's father did not know about this, they had been engaged for years! To stop any further embarrassment to the Parveen family name, her father then filed an abduction charge against her new husband. The couple contested this charge. Obviously, it was a frivolous lawsuit.

The cauldron of emotions boiled over on the day of court. As Farzana and her husband arrived at the courthouse, there were 20 members of Farzana's family in an emotional state being spurred on by her father's anger and disgust. As the couple approached, gunshots were fired into the air and some members tried to snatch her from her husband's arm. Farzana resisted, which only triggered a violent reaction by brothers and sisters that started to beat her, pelt her with stones. Near the courtroom was a construction site and members soon discovered bricks to bash into their sister's skull as the mayhem turned to murder. The attack happened near the gate of the heavily guarded court, the two men said, on one of the busiest roads in Lahore.

Meanwhile, the police in the area did nothing to stop it! The odd thing that the husband has admitted to murdering his first wife in order to marry Farzana. Bizarre. Worse, is the fact that she was also pregnant. At 10 members of her family have been arrested, including her father who thinks nothing was wrong with the killing. According to the husband of Farzana, her family simply wanted money from him to approve of the illicit love affair.