Western Clothes Dept: The Parvez family history is not uncommon. Aqsa’s father and her oldest brother arrived in Canada in 1999 as refugees from Pakistan. In those days, it was easy to buy a ticket to Canada, claim refugee status at the airport and be accepted. The Parvez males came from a backward rural town with strict Islamic values and a culture of domestic violence. They brought these values with them. They also set off a wave of chain migration that continues to this day, according to Globe And Mail. Aqsa didn’t want to live like them. She wanted to wear Western clothes, go to the mall with her Western friends and get a part-time job. She left home many times, and had left again when she was intercepted by her brother, taken home and killed and this week, Aqsa’s father and brother pleaded guilty to strangling her in the basement of their Mississauga home. Although such crimes are rare in Canada, the culture and belief system of the Parvez family are not. That is why this tragedy raises some extremely troubling questions. What happens when large groups of immigrants cling to values and beliefs that diverge so sharply from the mainstream? And can we still rely on the passage of time to smooth the differences away? In 2001, Aqsa’s father, Muhammad, brought over his wife, Anwar Jan, and their seven other children. Aqsa was the youngest. All the older children were eventually married off to first cousins back in Pakistan, in unions arranged by their father. All the spouses have emigrated to Canada. Thirteen people lived in Aqsa’s house, including three sisters-in-law. Her father’s rule was absolute. The women wore traditional dress. None went past high school and none worked outside the home. They were completely dependent on their husbands. As
reported in the news.
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@t chain migration, first cousins
17.6.10
