This week in Atlanta, a Pakistani man was charged with killing his daughter because she wanted out of an arranged marriage: Dad charged with murdering reluctant bride. In his first court appearance, 54-year-old Chaudhry Rashid was somber and tearful as he told the judge that he had done nothing wrong. A preliminary hearing in the case has been scheduled for July 24.
Chaudhry's daughter, Sandeela Kanwal, had recently wed in Pakistan in an arranged marriage. But she apparently wasn't interested in remaining married to her husband, which caused a great deal of friction between her and her father. According to police, she and Chaudhry were arguing over the marriage, and at some point during the altercation he ended up killing her.
I wouldn't be so quick to blame the arranged marriage for the murder. And it's certainly not a Pakistani thing. Let's face it, this news story has a tinge of sensationalism to it, discussing "honor killings" and all that. But what really killed this woman was domestic violence, which cuts across all communities.
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