The Zombieslayer

I don’t get moved easily, but the reason this one hit me is it came from Canada, not the Middle East.

A 16-year-old Canadian girl, Aqsa Parvez, was strangled to death by her own father for not wearing her hijab (a traditional Muslim head scarf). Her father had beaten her before for not wearing it, and she had gone to school having to cover up bruises. She had been fearing for her life and actually had been living with a friend to escape the violence.

She had also been followed around to make sure she was wearing the hijab. Sadly, she had predicted her own demise, telling a friend of hers that her father was going to kill her for not wearing it.

Her father Muhammad Parvez has been charged with second-degree murder.  Waqas Parvez, her brother, may be charged with obstruction of justice for intentionally trying to mislead investigators.  Waqas Parvez is on bail for $10,000 and had to surrender his passport to authorities.

In Saudi Arabia last Tuesday, a 19-year-old victim of a gang rape was sentenced to six months in jail and 200 lashes, only because she was with an unrelated male when she was gang raped.

Imagine that. Here’s a young woman who had just been gang raped and she gets jail time and 200 lashes. Her crime? Being in a car with a man who wasn’t her relative.

The full story was, she was in a car with a man who was not her relative, got carjacked by two other men, then they took her to a secluded area and seven men total raped her. Her friend was also raped by these thugs.

The international outcry so far has been strong. Yes, Saudi Arabia has officially not left the Middle Ages, while the rest of the world has somewhat advanced. The day after Thanksgiving, I’ll have to add one more thing on the list to be thankful for - that I don’t live in Saudi Arabia.

Full story on BBC here.