Toronto, Dec. 11, 2007
Ashok Aggarwal
On December 10, Ontario teenager Aqsa Parvez was murdered by her
father, over her refusal to wear the hijab, the traditional head
scarf worn by Muslim women. The story has caught fire in North
America on the Web, particularly among bloggers interested in
news pertaining to radical Islam.
The 16-year-old was taken to hospital Monday morning
after a man called police and said he killed his daughter. She
died later that night
The Father, Muhammad Parvez, 57, a cab driver of
Mississauga charged with murdering his 16-year-old daughter. The
victim’s older brother, Waqas Parvez, cab driver was also
charged with obstructing police in connection with the girl’s
death. Autopsy results released Wednesday found Parvez died of
"neck compression."
Muhammad Parvez, appeared in court today and will
face either a first- or second-degree murder charge. He was denied
bail and remanded into custody until a hearing via video link
on Jan. 29.
The main reason seems to be conflict over hijab.
Dad wanted her to wear it and she wanted nothing to do with it.
The several students at Applewood Heights Secondary School in
Mississauga, who told various media that Aqsa feared her father,
who had threatened her.
About: Aqsa Parvez
- A friend of the Parvez, said the conflict
with her father over wearing Islamic dress came to a head at
the beginning of this school year. “She just wanted to
dress like we do,” she said. “Last year, she wore
like the Islamic stuff and everything, the hijab, and this year
she’s all western. She just wanted to look like everyone
else.”
- According to friends, she had been living at another girl's
house for at least the past two weeks but had been in and out
of the family home for several months.
- Another classmate said, "She wanted to live her life
the way she wanted to, not the way her parents wanted her to.”
- She just wanted to be herself, just wanted to show her beauty,
and not be pushed around by her parents telling her what she
has to be like, what she has to do. Nobody would want to do
that.”
- One student not like to identify said, Parvez would often
change her clothing once she got to school and then would change
back before going home. Her brothers and sisters followed her
to see if she was wearing her headscarf or not.