he family name. Besides, she was told, there was still her younger sister to be married, and should the family name be shamed in such a way, it would be nearly impossible for the young girl to find a suitor. For four years Samia waited in the hope that her parents would change their minds. Finally, in desperation, she moved out of her family home into a women's shelter in Lahore and turned to Ms. Jilani for help. Together, the two women got to work on finalizing a petition for dissolution of marriage on the grounds of desertion. At the same time, Samia’s parents called Jilani and requested she schedule a meeting for them to speak to Samia. Jilani agreed on the condition that only Samia’s mother would arrive to the meeting. What happened next is merely a glimpse at the horrifying acts that take place all over the world amongst hundreds and thousands of women. Samia and Ms. Jilani almost gave up when the mother did not appear at the appointed hour and were packing up to leave when she walked in, not alone as she had promised, but with a man - strongly built and bearded. Samia seemed to have recognized him. He moved forward to greet her as Samia got up, but his “greeting” was a shot in the face from a pistol which he had been concealing in his coat. Samia died instantly. In the chaos that followed, the killer fled the room, along with Samia’s mother. The guards in the building managed to intercept the killer and shot him dead. It turned out he was Samia's family driver and had been instructed by her father to kill her. Samia’s mother literally stood by and watched, knowingly, as a man pulled out a gun and shot her daughter in the face. Samia’s father hired the man to kill her. Has justice seen to it that these two stand trial? Has justice sent them away for murder? No. The concept of “family honor” continues to dictate. Thus, while many expressed horror at what had ta...
