NO HONOUR ‘MY BEST FRIEND’S PARENTS SUFFOCATED HER WITH A PLASTIC BAG AND MADE HER SIBLINGS WATCH – ALL BECAUSE SHE WAS WEARING A SHORT-SLEEVED T-SHIRT
AS Shafilea Ahmed left work in her new T-shirt, she knew her mum was going to have something to say about it.
by Sarah Holmes,
The Sun, April 13, 2019 (Apr 14, 2019 (thanks to thanks to
The Religion of Peace and
Jihad Watch);
But she had no idea the row which was about to ensue over her dress sense would end in her being murdered in the family home in front of her siblings.
The 17-year-old’s parents were strict Muslims and hated Shafilea’s westernised fashion choices, often calling her a ‘prostitute’ and a ‘whore’ and beating and starving her as a punishment.
But on September 11, 2003, the argument over Shafilea’s T-shirt – a clothing choice which her parents said embarrassed them and brought shame on their family – ended with her mum and dad stuffing a carrier bag into her mouth until she turned blue.
Her horrified siblings watched on in horror as they killed their own daughter in a brutal attack in their Warrington home, before their dad bundled her lifeless body into the car and dumped her body in a river 70 miles away.
It would take nine years before her sister Alesha, 30, finally broke rank to reveal her family’s horrific secret to the police.
In a new documentary, When Missing Turns To Murder, journalists, investigators and friends of the Ahmed family reveal the harrowing extent of Shafilea’s abuse, and the wall of silence the police were met with from her family and the wider community following her death.
Even now, 16 years on, some of her siblings still refuse to admit their parent’s vile actions.
Killed for wearing make-up
Born in July 1986, Shafilea was the first child of Farzana and Iftikhar Ahmed, cousins who had an arranged marriage.
The life they built together was strict – but despite this, teenage Shafilea wore make-up and false nails.
She had an interest in fashion, and even dreamt of becoming a lawyer some day.
“She texted boys,” says family friend Shahin Munir, who attended the same mosque as Shafilea’s sisters. “But obviously it was hidden. It couldn’t be on her mobile phone because her parents would check.”
Iftikhar and Farzana deeply disproved of their daughter’s ‘westernised’ way of life.
“I’d heard there were physical beatings and a lot of emotional abuse,” says Shahin. “Her sister told me her parents would lock Shafilea in the garden. She wanted to escape her home, for her it was hell.”
‘She drank bleach in a suicide attempt’
Determined to curb her rebellious ways, the family arranged a family holiday to Pakistan where they intended to marry Shafilea off to one of her cousins.
But Shafilea was terrified, and refused to go. So her father drugged her with sleeping tablets and forced her to get on the flight.
When she woke up in Pakistan, Shafilea was so terrified about what may happen to her that she drank bleach in a desperate suicide attempt, severely burning her throat and oesophagus.
The family rushed her to hospital where she stayed for two months while she recovered.
Her father cashed in her return ticket for £250 and flew back to the UK with her two sisters.
When Shafilea returned to the UK, she spent a couple of weeks in hospital in Warrington, where Iftikhar claimed she’d mistaken a bottle of bleach for mouthwash.
When she eventually came home, her parents isolated Shafilea – and while she went to school and worked part-time in a call centre, her mum insisted on picking her up everyday, watching her every move.
Furious at her for refusing the marriage and for, in their opinion, bringing shame on the family, her parents decided to carry out an honour killing on their eldest daughter.
They executed it in front of Shafilea’s three younger sisters and brother.
After dumping Shafilea’s body in the river, her parents warned their other kids they’d kill them too if they ever spoke of the incident again….