Mother burns teenage daughter alive for eloping to marry man she loved

A mother was arrested on Wednesday after dousing her daughter with kerosene and burning her alive because the girl had defied her family to marry the man she loved. Parveen Rafiq has confessed to tying up her 18-year-old daughter Zeenat (pictured) to a cot before setting her ablaze. She was helped by her son, Ahmar, according to police in the Pakistan city of Lahore. The dead teenager’s husband said he had reluctantly allowed her to return to her family home after they promised they would not harm her.

Zeenat was unwilling to go back to her home and told me that she would be killed by her family but later agreed when one of her uncles guaranteed her safety.

Zeenat’s husband, Hasan Khan

Zeenat is among nearly 1,000 women to die each year in so-called ‘honor killings’ in Pakistan for allegedly violating conservative norms on love and marriage. The teenager had angered her family by eloping with motorcycle mechanic Hasan Khan and marrying him last month. He said she returned after the family promised to keep her safe for eight days before holding a formal ceremony. “After two days, she called me and said that her family had gone back on their word and asked me to come get her,” he added. “But I told her to wait for the promised eight days. Then, she was killed.”

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