The Independent
Indian teen whose body was found hanging off bridge was killed by her family for wearing jeans, says report
Maroosha Muzaffar
Tue, July 27, 2021, 7:57 AM
File: Political activists hold placards and a cut-out of India’s prime minister Narendra Modi during a protest condemning the alleged gang-rape and murder of a teenaged woman at Hathras in Uttar Pradesh state (AFP via Getty Images)
A 17-year-old girl from India’s northern Uttar Pradesh state was killed last week and her body dumped on a river bridge, allegedly by members of her extended family who were enraged at her choice of clothes.
The grandfather and uncles of the teenager, identified as Neha Paswan, allegedly beat her severely with sticks and rods after she went against their diktat and continued to wear jeans — clothing her family considered inappropriate.
Reports in Indian media outlets said the family repeatedly objected to her “western clothes,” exposing the deep roots of patriarchy in the country’s social fabric.
Shakuntala Devi, the teen’s mother, was quoted by the BBC as saying that the teen was adamant about wearing jeans despite strong objections from her grandparents.
“She had kept a day-long religious fast. In the evening, she put on a pair of jeans and a top and performed her rituals. When her grandparents objected to her attire, Neha retorted that jeans were made to be worn and that she would wear it,” Ms Devi said.
This led to an argument that escalated to severe violence against the teen, according to the BBC. The girl’s grandparents and other relatives reportedly beat her unconscious.
Police said the grandfather and two of her uncles refused to let Ms Devi accompany them to the local district hospital. They instead allegedly took the help of a local auto-rickshaw driver to dispose of the body.
“They wouldn’t let me accompany them so I alerted my relatives who went to the district hospital looking for her but couldn’t find her,” Ms Devi was quoted as saying by the BBC.
The next morning, Ms Devi and her other relatives received news that a girl’s body was dangling from a bridge over the Gandak river that flows through the region, and upon inspection it was found to be of her daughter’s.
Police officials said the men had tried to throw the body over the bridge, but it got stuck instead.
Police registered a case of murder and destruction of evidence against 10 people, including the girl’s aunts and cousins, according to local reports.
So far, authorities have arrested four people including the grandfather, two uncles and the auto-rickshaw driver. A search is on for the others.
The girl received serious head injuries when she was beaten up, leading to her death, the Indian Express quoted senior police official Yash Tripathi as saying.
The postmortem report also suggested she had received a “severe injury and fracture in the head (sic)”.
Her extended family — including her uncles and grandfather — had been persistent in objecting to the girl’s routine activities and life choices.
They had told her to quit school and admonished her for not wearing traditional Indian clothing.
The teen’s father Amarnath Paswan, who had been living in Ludhiana city in Punjab state where he worked as a construction site labourer — told the media that he laboured to send her to school.
This is not the first time a gruesome crime of this nature was committed.
A 20-year-old girl was beaten by her father for running away from her abusive in-laws in central India’s Madhya Pradesh state last month. In another shocking incident, two girls were beaten up by their family members for talking on mobile phones in the state’s Dhar district.
Several social media users paid tributes to the deceased. One tweeted: “Sorry Neha we let you down - this is a blot on us as society!”
In the last four years, crimes against women have increased in Uttar Pradesh by over 66 per cent, according to the latest available data.
Women in India mostly bear the brunt of these so-called “honour killings,” carried out by family members based on the belief that their actions have brought dishonour on their community.
A 2018 report says that more than 300 cases of honour killings were reported across the country in the last three years.
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HONOR KILLINGS
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Re: HONOR KILLINGS
US-born girl shot dead by father in Quetta over TikTok videos: police
Reuters | Abdullah Zehri Published January 29, 2025
A man who recently brought his family back to Quetta from the United States on Wednesday confessed to shooting his teenage daughter dead, motivated by his disapproval of her TikTok content, according to the police.
The shooting happened on a street in Quetta on Monday night. The suspect initially said that unidentified gunmen shot and killed his American-born 15-year-old daughter before he confessed to the crime, Gawalmandi Station House Officer (SHO) Babar Baloch said.
“Our investigation so far has found that the family had an objection to her dressing, lifestyle and social gathering,” Serious Crimes Investigation Wing (SCIW) Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Zohaib Mohsin said.
“We have her phone. It is locked,” he told Reuters. “We are probing all aspects, including ‘honour’ killing.”
The family recently returned to Balochistan after having lived in the US for about 25 years, SHO Baloch said. He said that the suspect has US citizenship, adding that the suspect told him the girl began creating “objectionable” content on TikTok when she lived in the US.
The suspect told police that she continued to share videos on the platform after returning to Pakistan.
Baloch said the suspect’s brother-in-law was also arrested in connection with the killing, while police said they had charged the suspect with the murder.
Police did not offer proof of Haq’s US citizenship except for the suspect’s own testimony and declined to say whether the US embassy had been informed of the incident.
A press release by the SCIW said the police was alerted about the incident on Monday night, following which the suspect filed a case at the Gawalmandi Police Station under Pakistan Penal Code Section 302 (intentional murder).
It added that the suspect and his brother-in-law confessed to the crime when they were included in the investigation. It further said the suspect had arrived with his daughter in Lahore from New York on Jan 15 and in Quetta on Jan 22.
His family declined to respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
More than 54 million people use TikTok in Pakistan, with authorities blocking the video-sharing app several times in recent years over content moderation.
Authorities take issue with what they term “obscene content” on the social media platform, which has lately started complying with requests to remove certain content.
Data from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan showed that in 2024, ‘honour’ killings continued to be a serious issue across Pakistan, with particularly high figures in Sindh and Punjab. From January to November, a total of 346 people fell victim to ‘honour’ crimes in the country.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1888479/us-bo ... eos-police
Reuters | Abdullah Zehri Published January 29, 2025
A man who recently brought his family back to Quetta from the United States on Wednesday confessed to shooting his teenage daughter dead, motivated by his disapproval of her TikTok content, according to the police.
The shooting happened on a street in Quetta on Monday night. The suspect initially said that unidentified gunmen shot and killed his American-born 15-year-old daughter before he confessed to the crime, Gawalmandi Station House Officer (SHO) Babar Baloch said.
“Our investigation so far has found that the family had an objection to her dressing, lifestyle and social gathering,” Serious Crimes Investigation Wing (SCIW) Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Zohaib Mohsin said.
“We have her phone. It is locked,” he told Reuters. “We are probing all aspects, including ‘honour’ killing.”
The family recently returned to Balochistan after having lived in the US for about 25 years, SHO Baloch said. He said that the suspect has US citizenship, adding that the suspect told him the girl began creating “objectionable” content on TikTok when she lived in the US.
The suspect told police that she continued to share videos on the platform after returning to Pakistan.
Baloch said the suspect’s brother-in-law was also arrested in connection with the killing, while police said they had charged the suspect with the murder.
Police did not offer proof of Haq’s US citizenship except for the suspect’s own testimony and declined to say whether the US embassy had been informed of the incident.
A press release by the SCIW said the police was alerted about the incident on Monday night, following which the suspect filed a case at the Gawalmandi Police Station under Pakistan Penal Code Section 302 (intentional murder).
It added that the suspect and his brother-in-law confessed to the crime when they were included in the investigation. It further said the suspect had arrived with his daughter in Lahore from New York on Jan 15 and in Quetta on Jan 22.
His family declined to respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
More than 54 million people use TikTok in Pakistan, with authorities blocking the video-sharing app several times in recent years over content moderation.
Authorities take issue with what they term “obscene content” on the social media platform, which has lately started complying with requests to remove certain content.
Data from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan showed that in 2024, ‘honour’ killings continued to be a serious issue across Pakistan, with particularly high figures in Sindh and Punjab. From January to November, a total of 346 people fell victim to ‘honour’ crimes in the country.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1888479/us-bo ... eos-police
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Re: HONOR KILLINGS
‘Honour’ kills
Editorial Published July 22, 2025 Updated a day ago
MURDER for ‘honour’ is craven compliance with customs that derive sustenance from blood. The most despicable form of gender violence is seen when a woman dares to love and, in doing so, violates family pride. She and her partner face death as a consequence.
A harrowing video depicting the execution of a young couple last month in Balochistan’s Dagari area recently went viral on social media and sent shockwaves across Pakistan. In the gruesome footage, a young woman is shot down as several men look on. A terrorism case has been registered on behalf of the state, and a dozen suspects, including a tribal elder who allegedly ordered the killing, are under arrest.
The case has been transferred to the Serious Crimes Investigation Wing, while the Quetta judicial magistrate has ordered that the woman’s body be exhumed. Two men in Attock also decided to restore family ‘honour’ with bloodshed: a mother of an infant took multiple bullets over doubts about her ‘character’ by both her husband and father-in-law. In Lower Dir, communal honour devoured a couple suspected of having illicit relations.
The persistence of such a scourge has sparked outrage about parallel justice systems and the fragile state of women’s liberties in Pakistan. These acts should be stripped of all traditional context that valorises them. In 2016, the government moved to plug loopholes that made it easy for ‘honour’ killers to walk free: Section 311 of the PPC, which addresses ‘fasad fil arz’, ensures that the state can intervene when ‘honour’ killing occurs and if the complainant forgives the perpetrator. Despite the amendments, punishment for murder, including ‘honour’ killings, can be set aside by the victim’s legal heirs.
Courts rarely exercise the discretion to overrule settlements between perpetrators and the kin, thereby perpetuating a culture of impunity. The state must show resolve to protect its citizens from the cancer of patriarchy.
The path to stem the rise in such murders over the last two years — HRCP data from January to November 2024 shows that 346 people were killed for ‘honour’ — lies in reforms to uphold justice, constitutional guarantees, and accountability. It does not help that activists focus on the courage of a woman facing the barrel of the gun. No life should be lost to toxic control. Women are not the family’s social currency.
Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2025
https://www.dawn.com/news/1925781/honour-kills
Editorial Published July 22, 2025 Updated a day ago
MURDER for ‘honour’ is craven compliance with customs that derive sustenance from blood. The most despicable form of gender violence is seen when a woman dares to love and, in doing so, violates family pride. She and her partner face death as a consequence.
A harrowing video depicting the execution of a young couple last month in Balochistan’s Dagari area recently went viral on social media and sent shockwaves across Pakistan. In the gruesome footage, a young woman is shot down as several men look on. A terrorism case has been registered on behalf of the state, and a dozen suspects, including a tribal elder who allegedly ordered the killing, are under arrest.
The case has been transferred to the Serious Crimes Investigation Wing, while the Quetta judicial magistrate has ordered that the woman’s body be exhumed. Two men in Attock also decided to restore family ‘honour’ with bloodshed: a mother of an infant took multiple bullets over doubts about her ‘character’ by both her husband and father-in-law. In Lower Dir, communal honour devoured a couple suspected of having illicit relations.
The persistence of such a scourge has sparked outrage about parallel justice systems and the fragile state of women’s liberties in Pakistan. These acts should be stripped of all traditional context that valorises them. In 2016, the government moved to plug loopholes that made it easy for ‘honour’ killers to walk free: Section 311 of the PPC, which addresses ‘fasad fil arz’, ensures that the state can intervene when ‘honour’ killing occurs and if the complainant forgives the perpetrator. Despite the amendments, punishment for murder, including ‘honour’ killings, can be set aside by the victim’s legal heirs.
Courts rarely exercise the discretion to overrule settlements between perpetrators and the kin, thereby perpetuating a culture of impunity. The state must show resolve to protect its citizens from the cancer of patriarchy.
The path to stem the rise in such murders over the last two years — HRCP data from January to November 2024 shows that 346 people were killed for ‘honour’ — lies in reforms to uphold justice, constitutional guarantees, and accountability. It does not help that activists focus on the courage of a woman facing the barrel of the gun. No life should be lost to toxic control. Women are not the family’s social currency.
Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2025
https://www.dawn.com/news/1925781/honour-kills
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Re: HONOR KILLINGS
Mother of seven children killed by husband over ‘honour’ in Karachi’s Lyari: police
Imtiaz Ali Published August 5, 2025 Updated about 11 hours ago
A mother of seven children was shot dead allegedly by her husband in an ‘honour’ killing case in Chakiwara area of Lyari on Tuesday, according to police.
“Bakhtawar, 40, was shot and killed by her husband at Miranaka [in Chakiwara, Lyari],” Chakiwara Station House Officer (SHO) Sajid Dharejo told Dawn.com.
“The husband was arrested, and the pistol used in the murder was recovered,” he added.
The police official said that the woman was asleep inside their home near Koyla Godam, Street-7, at around 1:30am when the suspect fired four shots. She sustained three bullet wounds and died on the spot.
“The murder appears to be an outcome of ‘honour’ killing,” Dharejo continued.
During the initial probe, the arrested man told the police that his wife used to talk with a man on her cell phone.
He had warned her not to do it, but she did not give any heed to his warning, the husband claimed.
The SHO said the husband is a labourer and hailed from Mansehra. The body of the victim was shifted to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi for legal formalities.
In Pakistan, ‘honour’ killings continued to claim the lives of women throughout last year, perpetuated by deeply ingrained societal beliefs about family dignity and shame.
Data from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan shows that in 2024, ‘honour’ killings continued to be a serious issue across Pakistan, with particularly high figures in Sindh and Punjab. From January to November, a total of 346 people fell victim to ‘honour’ crimes in the country.
Last month, two men were shot dead while a third one was injured over ‘honour’ in Karachi’s Manghopir area, police had said.
Also last month, a man was killed over so-called honour in Sharifabad, according to police.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1928913/mothe ... ari-police
Imtiaz Ali Published August 5, 2025 Updated about 11 hours ago
A mother of seven children was shot dead allegedly by her husband in an ‘honour’ killing case in Chakiwara area of Lyari on Tuesday, according to police.
“Bakhtawar, 40, was shot and killed by her husband at Miranaka [in Chakiwara, Lyari],” Chakiwara Station House Officer (SHO) Sajid Dharejo told Dawn.com.
“The husband was arrested, and the pistol used in the murder was recovered,” he added.
The police official said that the woman was asleep inside their home near Koyla Godam, Street-7, at around 1:30am when the suspect fired four shots. She sustained three bullet wounds and died on the spot.
“The murder appears to be an outcome of ‘honour’ killing,” Dharejo continued.
During the initial probe, the arrested man told the police that his wife used to talk with a man on her cell phone.
He had warned her not to do it, but she did not give any heed to his warning, the husband claimed.
The SHO said the husband is a labourer and hailed from Mansehra. The body of the victim was shifted to Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi for legal formalities.
In Pakistan, ‘honour’ killings continued to claim the lives of women throughout last year, perpetuated by deeply ingrained societal beliefs about family dignity and shame.
Data from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan shows that in 2024, ‘honour’ killings continued to be a serious issue across Pakistan, with particularly high figures in Sindh and Punjab. From January to November, a total of 346 people fell victim to ‘honour’ crimes in the country.
Last month, two men were shot dead while a third one was injured over ‘honour’ in Karachi’s Manghopir area, police had said.
Also last month, a man was killed over so-called honour in Sharifabad, according to police.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1928913/mothe ... ari-police
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Re: HONOR KILLINGS
Couple shot dead over ‘honour’ in Karachi’s Machar Colony
Imtiaz Ali Published December 24, 2025
KARACHI: A couple who married with mutual consent was allegedly gunned down by the woman’s father in Machar Colony on Wednesday, in what the police described as a so-called ‘honour killing’
Docks police, in a statement, said that the male victim was gunned down while his wife was shot and injured by her father inside a home near Ayesha Masjid in Machar Colony.
The body and the injured woman were shifted to Civil Hospital Karachi, and further investigation is underway, the statement added. However, the woman passed away during treatment, said Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed.
South-DIG Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that the couple had married of their own free will and had a four-month-old daughter. They had been living in a rented house in Machar Colony for the last five months.
During the initial probe, it emerged that the deceased woman had phoned her father three days ago, Raza said. The father was living with her.
The couple was asleep when the suspect gunned down his son-in-law and injured his daughter and then fled the scene.
The police collected four spent bullet casings from the crime scene, the DIG said.
Earlier in December, a woman and her teenage daughter were stabbed to death over “honour” in the Gizri area of Karachi.
In Pakistan, ‘honour’ killings continued to claim the lives of women throughout 2024, perpetuated by deeply ingrained societal beliefs about family dignity and shame.
Data from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) shows that in 2024, ‘honour’ killings continued to be a serious issue across Pakistan, with particularly high figures in Sindh and Punjab. From January to November, a total of 346 people fell victim to ‘honour’ crimes in the country.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1962999/coupl ... har-colony
Imtiaz Ali Published December 24, 2025
KARACHI: A couple who married with mutual consent was allegedly gunned down by the woman’s father in Machar Colony on Wednesday, in what the police described as a so-called ‘honour killing’
Docks police, in a statement, said that the male victim was gunned down while his wife was shot and injured by her father inside a home near Ayesha Masjid in Machar Colony.
The body and the injured woman were shifted to Civil Hospital Karachi, and further investigation is underway, the statement added. However, the woman passed away during treatment, said Police surgeon Dr Summaiya Syed.
South-DIG Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that the couple had married of their own free will and had a four-month-old daughter. They had been living in a rented house in Machar Colony for the last five months.
During the initial probe, it emerged that the deceased woman had phoned her father three days ago, Raza said. The father was living with her.
The couple was asleep when the suspect gunned down his son-in-law and injured his daughter and then fled the scene.
The police collected four spent bullet casings from the crime scene, the DIG said.
Earlier in December, a woman and her teenage daughter were stabbed to death over “honour” in the Gizri area of Karachi.
In Pakistan, ‘honour’ killings continued to claim the lives of women throughout 2024, perpetuated by deeply ingrained societal beliefs about family dignity and shame.
Data from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) shows that in 2024, ‘honour’ killings continued to be a serious issue across Pakistan, with particularly high figures in Sindh and Punjab. From January to November, a total of 346 people fell victim to ‘honour’ crimes in the country.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1962999/coupl ... har-colony
Re: HONOR KILLINGS
Father and Uncle of Slain New York Girl Given Life Sentences in Pakistan
The killing of the victim, a 14-year-old girl from Yonkers who was known for posting videos on TikTok, was premeditated, a court ruled.
The path outside this family home in Quetta, Pakistan, was where Hira Anwar, 14, was killed.Credit...Saadullah Akhter for The New York Times
By Zia ur-Rehman
Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan
June 21, 2026
A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced a U.S. citizen and his Pakistani brother-in-law to life imprisonment for the killing of the American’s daughter, a New York teenager whose father told investigators that her “Western” lifestyle had brought shame to his family.
Hira Anwar, 14, an eighth-grade student from Yonkers, N.Y., had been lured to Pakistan and was fatally shot in January 2025 outside her family’s home in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan Province.
Her father, Anwar-ul-Haq, a longtime New York City Uber driver and naturalized U.S. citizen, initially told the Quetta police that unidentified gunmen had opened fire on her. However, a police investigation concluded that the killing was a carefully orchestrated “trap” set by the father, who also went by Anwar-ul-Haq Rajpoot. The two men were convicted of murder committed by individuals acting with a shared criminal intent.
At Public School 16 in Yonkers, Hira was known as an outgoing teenager who posted TikTok videos featuring the singer Zayn Malik and the Australian band Chase Atlantic. Teachers described her as being eager for greater independence and freedom of expression.
A district court in Quetta found that Mr. ul-Haq, viewed her clothing, friendships and online presence as a source of shame. He was particularly troubled by her social media activity and interactions with boys, which he considered inappropriate.
Prosecutors argued that those concerns evolved into a plan to kill her.
According to the court, Mr. ul-Haq persuaded relatives in Pakistan to participate in the plot after bringing Hira there under the pretext of a family vacation.
On the night of the murder, the court found, Mr. ul-Haq “deliberately created the opportunity” for the killing. As he and Hira stood outside the residence, he pretended to have forgotten a cellphone inside and went back into the house, leaving his daughter standing alone in the street.
Within moments, her maternal uncle, Muhammad Tayab, rode up on a motorcycle and shot her in the chest with a pistol, the court found.
Forensic experts matched shell casings recovered at the scene to a pistol found at Mr. Tayab’s home, establishing what the court described as an “unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence.”
Although the judge, Shahid Javed, found the killing to be premeditated, he said prosecutors had failed to establish a “strong motive” linking Hira’s killing to her lifestyle. The absence of a proven motive was among the factors cited by the court in opting for the “lesser punishment” of life sentences rather than the death penalty. The men were also fined about $715 each. The trial lasted about 18 months and included testimony from investigators and relatives.
Naveed Qambrani, a lawyer for Mr. ul-Haq and Mr. Tayab, said the family planned to appeal the verdict in a higher court, arguing that the trial court had come under “outside pressure.”
The case has cast a spotlight on so-called honor killings, a form of gender-based violence in which relatives target women or girls who they believe have disgraced the family through their behavior or personal choices.
Although the practice remains a persistent problem in Pakistan and elsewhere in South Asia, researchers say similar patterns have appeared within some immigrant communities abroad.
“Migration often intensifies these dynamics,” said Afiya S. Zia, a Pakistani scholar and the author of Faith and Feminism in Pakistan, as “some men respond to a loss of social or economic footing, racial standing or social legibility in a new country.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/21/worl ... roid-share
The killing of the victim, a 14-year-old girl from Yonkers who was known for posting videos on TikTok, was premeditated, a court ruled.
The path outside this family home in Quetta, Pakistan, was where Hira Anwar, 14, was killed.Credit...Saadullah Akhter for The New York Times
By Zia ur-Rehman
Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan
June 21, 2026
A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced a U.S. citizen and his Pakistani brother-in-law to life imprisonment for the killing of the American’s daughter, a New York teenager whose father told investigators that her “Western” lifestyle had brought shame to his family.
Hira Anwar, 14, an eighth-grade student from Yonkers, N.Y., had been lured to Pakistan and was fatally shot in January 2025 outside her family’s home in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan Province.
Her father, Anwar-ul-Haq, a longtime New York City Uber driver and naturalized U.S. citizen, initially told the Quetta police that unidentified gunmen had opened fire on her. However, a police investigation concluded that the killing was a carefully orchestrated “trap” set by the father, who also went by Anwar-ul-Haq Rajpoot. The two men were convicted of murder committed by individuals acting with a shared criminal intent.
At Public School 16 in Yonkers, Hira was known as an outgoing teenager who posted TikTok videos featuring the singer Zayn Malik and the Australian band Chase Atlantic. Teachers described her as being eager for greater independence and freedom of expression.
A district court in Quetta found that Mr. ul-Haq, viewed her clothing, friendships and online presence as a source of shame. He was particularly troubled by her social media activity and interactions with boys, which he considered inappropriate.
Prosecutors argued that those concerns evolved into a plan to kill her.
According to the court, Mr. ul-Haq persuaded relatives in Pakistan to participate in the plot after bringing Hira there under the pretext of a family vacation.
On the night of the murder, the court found, Mr. ul-Haq “deliberately created the opportunity” for the killing. As he and Hira stood outside the residence, he pretended to have forgotten a cellphone inside and went back into the house, leaving his daughter standing alone in the street.
Within moments, her maternal uncle, Muhammad Tayab, rode up on a motorcycle and shot her in the chest with a pistol, the court found.
Forensic experts matched shell casings recovered at the scene to a pistol found at Mr. Tayab’s home, establishing what the court described as an “unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence.”
Although the judge, Shahid Javed, found the killing to be premeditated, he said prosecutors had failed to establish a “strong motive” linking Hira’s killing to her lifestyle. The absence of a proven motive was among the factors cited by the court in opting for the “lesser punishment” of life sentences rather than the death penalty. The men were also fined about $715 each. The trial lasted about 18 months and included testimony from investigators and relatives.
Naveed Qambrani, a lawyer for Mr. ul-Haq and Mr. Tayab, said the family planned to appeal the verdict in a higher court, arguing that the trial court had come under “outside pressure.”
The case has cast a spotlight on so-called honor killings, a form of gender-based violence in which relatives target women or girls who they believe have disgraced the family through their behavior or personal choices.
Although the practice remains a persistent problem in Pakistan and elsewhere in South Asia, researchers say similar patterns have appeared within some immigrant communities abroad.
“Migration often intensifies these dynamics,” said Afiya S. Zia, a Pakistani scholar and the author of Faith and Feminism in Pakistan, as “some men respond to a loss of social or economic footing, racial standing or social legibility in a new country.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/21/worl ... roid-share