Longer sentences to "honour" murders

Before she died, Heshu (another "honour" victim) wrote this letter: "Me and you will probably never understand each other, but I'm sorry I wasn't what you wanted, but there's some things you can't change. Hey, for an older man you sure have a strong punch and kick. I hope you enjoyed testing your strength on me. It was fun being a 16-year-old at the receiving end. Well done."

The Independent, 13 June 2007, pag 33

Stop "honour" murders!

In the pictures of them (Banaz's murders) in the newspapers, their eyes shine bright. No shades of self-doubt

The Independent, 13 June, 2007, pag 33


"You will be the next", Asian woman is told

Violence is behind high suicide rates

The Times, June 13, 2007, pag 15

Tribal muslim "justice" in UK

Mahmod Mahmod murdered daughter Banaz

The victim of an "honour killing" had been dismissed by police as a fantasist

Mr Sulemani (Banaz's boyfriend) was deemed unsuitable because he did not come from the villages in Iraqi Kurdistan where the Mahmods originated.

Banaz feared for her life when her father came towards her menacingly, wearing gloves, and she jumped through a window.

When she told a police officier, PC Angela Cornes, about what happened, her account was dismissed as fantasy.

Mr Cornes even wanted to have her charged with criminal damage for breaking the window.

One of the men later admitted his part in the crime, while the other two have fled the country.

Metro UK, June 12, 2007


Because Mr Sulemani was not a strict Muslim and not from the Mirawaldy region, Miss Mahmod's father ruled that she would never marry him.

When Ari Mahmod (Banaz's oncle) saw the photograph of the embrace (taken by a member of the Kurdish community), he contacted a gang of Kurdish thugs and planned the murders.

The Times, June 12, pag 7


The possibility that such crimes were going undetected was strengthened when it emerged that three times as many Asian women aged between 16 and 24 commited suicide, compared with the national average.

idem, pag 6

RICHARD RORTY (04/10/1931 - 08/06/2007)

Philosopher who influenced "postmodernism". For Rorty we need to abandon the search for "objective truth". Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature (1979) and Contingency, Irony and Solidarity (1989) are among the most important books from XX century.