Religious Boundaries Dept: Between 2006 and 2009, at least three women have been killed in Ontario for breaching family “honour.” Recently, a Montreal-area Afghan-Canadian woman was charged with attempted murder of her 19-year-old daughter, apparently after she came home late. While these unproven allegations are shocking, more so are the roles alleged to have been played by victims’ brothers, according to Globe And Mail. In 2007, 16-year-old Aqsa Parvez’s brother and father murdered her in their Mississauga home for allegedly “shaming” the Pakistani family with her preference for Western norms. Family members told police that retribution was the price to pay for violating cultural and religious boundaries. Each man received a life prison sentence and not surprisingly, immigrants experienced a clash of cultures, including tension between individual rights and community loyalty. Another key area was gender equality: Immigrants believed women had more independence and rights in Canada than in their country of origin. Female immigrants believed this to be a good thing; the men weren’t so sure. Unsurprisingly, gender equity was found to be a primary source of tension between spouses. The study did not probe the cultural schizophrenia experienced by immigrant youths, or how families retained cohesiveness in the face of these tensions. This analysis is essential, given the recent murders of young women by family members for pursuing individual choices contrary to tradition. In 2006, Khatera Sadiqi, 20, and fiance Feroz Mangal, 23 were shot to death in Ottawa by Ms. Sadiqi’s brother. Ms. Sadiqi’s father did not approve of her fiance brother Hasibullah sought to “restore” the Afghan family’s honour by killing her. He received a 25-year prison sentence. As
reported in the news.
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@t clash of cultures, recent murders
22.6.10
