Aqsa "Axa" Parvez ( ur, ; April 22, 1991 – December 10, 2007) was the victim of a

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

Mississauga Mississauga ( ), historically known as Toronto Township, is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is situated on the shores of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, adjoining the western border of Toronto. With a popul ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. During the murder trial, Superior Court Justice Bruce Durno acknowledged the slaying as 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 ...

, stating, that he found it "profoundly disturbing that a 16-year-old could be murdered by a father and brother for the purpose of saving family pride, for saving them from what they perceived as family embarrassment". Aqsa's brother, Waqas, had strangled her. Aqsa's death was reported internationally and sparked a debate about the status of women in

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. The ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' stated that the father's perception of himself being unable to influence his daughter's behavior was a major factor in the death, and that "Media in Toronto and around the world immediately reported and continues to report that Aqsa was killed because she refused to wear the hijab. But it was much more complicated than that."

Background

Parvez was a student of Applewood Heights Secondary School in

, Canada. Her father, Muhammad Parvez, was a

taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

driver. She grew up in a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

family of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

i origin. A week before her death, she had moved in with the family of a neighbour, Lubna Tahir, to escape tension with her family. Parvez had academic difficulties at her school, but refused pleas to be moved to an Islamic school. After leaving home the first time, partly for disliking the hijab, her father sent her a letter promising to allow her more freedom. She later left home a second time.

Murder

Around 8:00a.m. ( EST) on December10, 2007,

Peel Regional Police The Peel Regional Police (PRP) provide policing services for Peel Regional Municipality, Ontario, Peel Region (excluding Caledon) in Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest municipal police service in Ontario after the Toronto Police Service an ...

responded to a

911 911 or 9/11 may refer to: Dates * AD 911 * 911 BC * September 11 ** 9/11, the September 11 attacks of 2001 ** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that outed the democratically elected Salvador Allende * November 9 Numbers * 91 ...

call from a man who had said he had just killed his daughter. When officers arrived at a single-family detached home, they found Parvez suffering from life-threatening injuries. She was immediately taken to

Credit Valley Hospital Credit Valley Hospital is a regional hospital located in Mississauga, Ontario. Officially opened on November 5, 1985, it is now part of the Trillium Health Partners hospital group and primarily serves the communities of north Mississauga: Street ...

and later transferred in critical condition to the Hospital for Sick Children where she died. It was learned in court in 2010 that it was her brother who had strangled her, causing her to die from neck compression. One student reported that her father was threatening her, causing her to fear for her life. Parvez's friends also said she wanted to run away from her family to escape the conflicts with them.

Guilty plea

Muhammad Parvez was charged with

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

and denied

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countries ...

. The victim's older brother, Waqas Parvez, who was ordered by his father to not communicate with police, was originally facing a charge of

obstructing police Obstruction may refer to: Places * Obstruction Island, in Washington state * Obstruction Islands, east of New Guinea Medicine * Obstructive jaundice * Obstructive sleep apnea * Airway obstruction, a respiratory problem ** Recurrent airway obst ...

and placed in custody. He was released on bail and was ordered to reside with his

surety In finance, a surety , surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pay ...

and surrender his

passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

. However, on June 27, 2008, Waqas Parvez was charged by Peel Regional Police with

. On June 15, 2010, Muhammad Parvez and Waqas Parvez

pleaded guilty In legal terms, a plea is simply an answer to a claim made by someone in a criminal case under common law using the adversarial system. Colloquially, a plea has come to mean the assertion by a defendant at arraignment, or otherwise in response ...

to the second-degree murder of Aqsa Parvez, and a statement of agreed-upon facts was released. Both were sentenced to life imprisonment, with no eligibility for parole until 2028. Muhammad Parvez died of natural causes in February 2017 while in custody.

Reaction

Parvez's death has also revived the story of the similar honour killing that happened in 1989 in which Zein Isa killed his 16-year-old daughter, Tina. Though the murder is considered to be a case of

, some Islamic leaders claimed that it is only a case of

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

. Her death has also sparked a debate about the status of women in Islamic communities. A statement her father made to her mother immediately after the crime was later cited in support of the honour killing theory: “My community will say you have not been able to control your daughter. This is my insult. She is making me naked.” A public

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

was to take place for Parvez at 1:30p.m. (EST) at a Mississauga mosque on December15, 2007. However, hours before the funeral, her family decided to instead have a private funeral for privacy reasons. Parvez was buried at the Meadowvale Cemetery in

Brampton Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...

; her family refused a donation of a gravestone and a memorial made by anti-Islam activist

Pamela Geller Pamela Geller (born 1958) is an American anti-Muslim, far-right, political activist, blogger and commentator. Geller promoted birther conspiracy theories about President Barack Obama, saying that he was born in Kenya and that he is a Muslim. Sh ...

Syed Soharwardy Allama Syed Badiuddin Soharwardy (born 1955 in Karachi) is a Sunni scholar, a shaykh of the Suhrawardi Sufi order, chairman of the Al-Madinah Calgary Islamic Assembly, and is the founder and current president of the Islamic Supreme Council of Ca ...

, the head imam at the

Calgary Islamic Centre Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, making ...

and national president of

Islamic Supreme Council of Canada The Islamic Supreme Council of Canada (ISCC; french: Le Conseil Suprême Islamique de Canada) is a Canadian Islam, Muslim organization based in Calgary, Alberta. It was founded in 2000 by Sufi Imam Syed Soharwardy with the aims of fostering Canadia ...

, went on a

hunger strike A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...

for two days to denounce family violence, which he described as completely against the teachings of

. Mohammad Alnadui, vice-chairman of the Canadian Council of Imams, called the murder "un-Islamic", and denounced the act "without any reservation". Parvez's death was profiled in

Shelley Saywell Shelley most often refers to: * Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822), a major English Romantic poet and husband of Mary Shelley * Mary Shelley (1797–1851), an English novelist and the wife of Percy Shelley * Shelley (name), a given name and a sur ...

's 2010 documentary film '' In the Name of the Family''.Olivia Ward, "When families prey on their own: A filmmaker lays bare the misogyny behind honour killings, avoids demonizing Islam". ''

'', May 1, 2010.

References

External links

* http://www.thestar.com/amp/news/crime/2010/06/16/i_killed_my_daughter__with_my_hands.html
20 Muslim Groups Urge 'Zero Tolerance' for Domestic Violence - CAIR

Picture of Aqsa Pervez
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parvez, Aqsa 2007 in Ontario 2010 in Ontario Child abuse resulting in death Filicides in Canada History of Mississauga 2007 murders in Canada Murder in Canada Sororicides Honor killing in Canada Incidents of violence against girls