A woman in Pakistan burned her 17-year-old daughter alive on Wednesday
to punish her for marrying against the family's wishes, the latest in a
series of so-called "honor killings" that claim the lives of nearly
1,000 women every year in the conservative Muslim country.
Police
say Zeenat Rafiq's mother, Parveen, tied her to a cot and drenched her
with kerosene before lighting her on fire. Neighbors in the congested,
working-class neighborhood in the eastern city of Lahore came running
when they heard the screams, but family members kept them from entering
the house, said Nighat Bibi, who lives nearby.
The police eventually arrived and found the charred body near a staircase. They arrested the mother soon thereafter.
Three days ago, he said, the girl's mother and an uncle visited
her to try to persuade her to return home and have the marriage
ceremony repeated in a traditional family function, instead of
being labelled her whole life as someone who had "eloped."
Khan, her husband, told the local Geo News TV station that his
bride had feared the worst.
"Don't let me go, they will kill me," Khan recounted his wife
telling him.-AP
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