Ottawa commits $300K to fight ‘honour’ crimes
Posted September 5, 2013 3:24 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The federal government has earmarked about $300,000 to deal with so-called honour crimes in the country’s Muslim community.
The money will go to the Canadian Council of Muslim Women for a two-year project called Violence Against Women: Health and Justice for Canadian Muslim Women.
It will teach Muslims about violence carried out under the guise of honour and help support victims.
“Eliminating violence against women and girls is a priority for our government,” said Kellie Leitch, minister of the Status of Women.
“I am proud to support this important project. It is only by working together and enhancing our knowledge and understanding of these issues that we will end all forms of violence against women and girls.”
Two years ago, 16-year-old Asqa Parvez’s father and brother got life sentences for strangling her to death in the family’s Mississauga home because she rejected traditional behaviour.
And last year, Mohammad Shafia, 58, and his wife Tooba Yahya, 42, along with their son Hamed Shafia, 21, were each found guilty of four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of their daughters.
Sisters Zainab, 19, Sahar, 17, and Geeti Shafia, 13, along with Rona Amir Mohammad, 52 — their father’s other wife in a polygamous marriage — were found in a car at the bottom of the Rideau Canal in 2009.
“We are pleased to receive the Government of Canada’s support for this exciting new project that will advance equality and empowerment for Muslim women in Canada,” said CCMW executive director Alia Hogben.
“Many women and girls in Canada will benefit from this project.”
With files from The Canadian Press
