Anooshe Sediq Ghulam (1979–2002) was a 22-year-old Afghan refugee in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, who was murdered by her husband, Afghan Nasruddin Shamsi, in an "

honour killing An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of t ...

Life and death

Anooshe Sediq Ghulam was an ethnic Uzbek and grew up in Mazhar-i-Sharif. She married another Uzbek, Zaheerudin Shamsi, and became his second wife. According to her own statements to the newspaper ''

Dagbladet ''Dagbladet'' (lit.: ''The Daily Magazine'') is one of Norway's largest newspapers and is published in the tabloid format. It has 1,400,000 daily readers on mobile, web and paper. Traditionally ''Dagbladet'' is considered the main liberal newspa ...

'', she was 13 years old at the time of the marriage. According to the birth date she later gave to Norwegian authorities she was 15 or 16.Hege Storhaug
Les Anooshes historie
''

'', 27 April, 2002 The married couple arrived in Norway in May 1999 as asylum seekers. They were granted permanent stay in Norway on humanitarian grounds. Anooshe Ghulam was later granted asylum. The couple had two children. In summer 2000, she reported her husband to the police for domestic violence. He was incarcerated for a short period. Ghulam sought refuge at a women's center and filed for divorce. After this incident, Anooshe Ghulam was sent to another refugee center, Svanviken flyktningmottak, which was supposed to be a hidden address. Her husband, however, became aware of where she lived. After he was observed in an area near Ghulam, a restraining order was issued against him and he was once arrested for violating it. The murder took place outside the police station in

Kristiansund Kristiansund (, ; historically spelled Christianssund and earlier named Fosna) is a municipality on the western coast of Norway in the Nordmøre district of Møre og Romsdal county. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of ...

25 April 2002, when the two were on their way to court for a custody case. Anooshe spoke fluent English and quickly picked up Norwegian. Her husband, who had been an army general and came from a prominent clan in Afghanistan's

Northern Alliance The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( prs, جبهه متحد اسلامی ملی برای نجات افغانستان ''Jabha-yi Muttahid-i Islāmi-yi Millī barāyi Nijāt ...

, barely spoke either language. The trial lasted 20 days and Nasruddin was sentenced to 18 years in jail. He claimed the plan originally had not been to kill Ghulam but to kill himself inside the courtroom. The two children were placed in a foster home and given police protection, due to concerns that they might be abducted by Nasruddin's family. Nasruddin's family did not come to the trial, though he has a brother living in Norway. The Norwegian authorities arranged visas for Anooshe's family in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

to come to the funeral, but they never picked them up. Apparently they were threatened and feared reprisals by Nasruddin's family. During the trial, Nasruddin testified that he had been a refugee in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, but only in Norway did the social services "meddle" with his private life. Had he known that in advance, he would not have brought his family to Norway.

References

External links

Culcom, Interview
with

Unni Wikan Unni Wikan (born 18 November 1944) is professor of social anthropology at the University of Oslo, Norway. She has served as visiting professor at the University of Chicago (2011), Harvard University (1999–2000), Goethe University, Frankfurt (200 ...

, February 17, 2006
Kilden, Tragedy and Honor, January 1, 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghulam, Anooshe Sediq Honor killing in Europe Honor killing victims Kristiansund 2002 murders in Norway Afghan people murdered abroad Violence against women in Norway Uxoricides

Life and death

See also

References

External links