The "honorable" Mohammed Shafia in police custody
It appears that Canada has suffered its fifth case of honor killing since 1999-accounting for nine dead victims. This month, police in Kingston, Ontario have announced the arrest of three family members in the death of four other family members. The motive?
Honor.
The family involved is that of Mohammed Shafia, who immigrated to Canada two years ago with his family consisting of two wives, three teenage daughters, a teenage son, and three other children. The family is originally from Afghanistan, but also lived for a period of time in Dubai.
It was last month that the bodies of Shafia's first wife, Rona (50) and his three daughters, Zainab(19), Sahar (17), and Geeti (13) were found dead in the family car submerged in a canal near Windsor, Ontario. The car had entered the canal backwards. Shafia had earlier reported the car missing, telling police that his daughter Zainab had taken it joy-riding. The family had reportedly been driving from Montreal to Niagara Falls when the incident happened.
It appears that the motive for the crime was that the three daughters had been living like typical Canadian teenagers live, which displeased the father and second wife, Tooba Mohammed Yahya. In addition, it has been reported that Zainab had a Pakistani boyfriend whom the father disapproved of and that Youth Protective officials had been called to the Shafia home on three occasions in the past two years. It is theorized that Rona, the first wife, may have defended the three daughters in their choice of a Western life-style. Rona's sister has reportedly told police that Rona had been reciving death threats centered around "family honor".
Days ago, Shafia, his second wife, Tooba, and their son, Hamed (18), were arrested by police as they were en route to Montreal airport and charged with pre-meditated murder. Police say that, contrary to Shafia's claims, Zainab was not driving the car, rather it was driven by one of the three surviving family members.
Three other children belonging to the family are reportedly in child protective custody.
Honor.
Now will come the cry of Islamophobia from the Canadian Muslim Community, the cry it is their culture, and of course the ultimate cry: RACISM!
ReplyDeleteI want to know why he was allowed to have 2 wives when Canadian Law clearly states that is illegal. And why the girls were not taken out of the home after authorities discovered their father to be abusive?