Horrific killing

Iran’s President Rouhani has ordered his government to speed up new laws to increase the penalties for “honour killings”, following the murder of Romina Ashrafi (pictured), a 14-year-old girl who’d run away with her 29-year-old boyfriend. In a case that has appalled Iranians, Ashrafi’s father is suspected of beheading her with a sickle as she slept. Police had returned her to her family, although she’d warned them she’d face violent retribution. If convicted, her father faces a maximum term of ten years.  (Talesh, Iran) 

My reaction:  Ten years for beheading your daughter with a sickle?!  He deserves to be locked away for the rest of his life.   The best one can say is at least Rouhani is fighting an ancient cultural malady, entwined as it is in religion.  It is true to say that abusive, sick cultural habits that date back centuries became over time entwined with religious practice, and maybe this sort of thing cannot be blamed on the Moslem religion in so far as the Prophet, as far as I know, never advocated execution by sickle for disobedient daughters.  The problem is the culture, something being played out in Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen – you name it – to this day.

Epicureanism is a relief to contemplate after these countries with cruel, abusive attitudes towards women.