A 14-year-old girl from Pakistan was burned alive after her uncle doused her in petrol and set her on fire. Her uncle was enraged after the girl's father refused to let her marry her cousin.
Burned alive
Mohammad Yousuf, the girl's father, turned down a marriage proposal from Mohammad Yaqoob, his brother. Yaqoob wanted his son and the girl, Sadia, to wed.
However, the girl's father already promised her to another relative two months before Yaqoob's proposal, according to Gulf News.
The authorities said that on July 17, the uncle waited for Sadia to return home. He then poured petrol all over her and set her on fire. The police stated that the girl was alone at the house when the incident happened, so she was left with her injuries.
After the brutal attack, she was able to escape from her home. She was rushed to the nearby hospital but was later pronounced dead, according to the Daily Mail.
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According to the media reports, the parents and other family members of the girl tried to cover up the uncle's crime. They began telling others that she died of a cylinder blast and it was an accident.
The police found contradicting factors in the statements of the girl's parents and in-laws. The authorities took the uncle into custody and he confessed during questioning.
Women being killed in Pakistan for the sake of "honor killing" is not new. Just last month, the body of a 24-year-old woman was found after she was stoned to death. On June 27, the National Highway and Motorway Police found a mutilated body near the Indus Highway.
The local police were able to identify the body of the woman who was stoned to death. Her named was Waziran and she lived in the village of Wadda Chachar. It is believed that the woman was pelted with stones and was hit with a wooden stick repeatedly.
Honor killings
In Pakistan, numerous communities see women and girls embodiment of family honor. They believe that a women's identity and her sense of social respect and worth are measured by how she follows her family's demands, such as marrying the man that the family chooses for her.
The problem is, seeking justice for "honor killings" is difficult. The loophole of honor killings allows the perpetrators to escape punishment.
Under Pakistani law, the family of the victim can pardon the perpetrator. Honor killings are not just rampant in Pakistan, it also happens in other parts of South Asia. It is difficult to know how many women were killed because of this, but the number is thousands worldwide.
Usually, the punishments for transgressions of honor or for bringing shame in a family are decided by councils of tribal elders. The tribal elders consist of only men.
In Pakistan, the statistics of honor killings vary from 900 to 1,000 every year, according to The New York Times.
But these numbers represent the instances that were documented by human rights groups based on reports submitted by law enforcement authorities or the media. It does not include those that were not publicized.
