EXCLUSIVE: The rape and murder of Banaz Mahmod was recreated in the real-life drama ITV Honor, but Jasvinder Sanghera, who campaigns against forced marriages, warns that a similar case « could and will happen ”
This was when DCI Caroline Goode feared the most, when the Banaz Mahmod case shifted from a missing persons investigation to a murder investigation
Viewers witnessed tonight’s turning point in ITV’s real-life drama Honor when one of the murderers was heard bragging about the so-called ‘honor killing’ on a prison phone bugged by police
But Jasvinder Sanghera, who campaigns against forced marriages, warns: « I’m telling you now, another Banaz could and will happen
« This film will make people realize that what is happening here in Britain and it is not decreasing, but increasing
« We have no idea how many victims are affected, because there are several perpetrators within a family dynamic who mistreat them »
Honor recounts how in 2006 Banaz, 20, was abused and tortured for two hours before being killed in her own family’s home in south London
Her attackers Mohamad Hama, Mohammed Saleh Ali and Omar Hussain murdered her on the orders of her father Mahmod Mahmod and her uncle Ari Mahmod, who did not approve of her new boyfriend, Rahmat Suleimani
Jasvinder, who founded the Karma Nirvana charity in 1993 in memory of his sister Robina, who died after setting herself on fire to escape an abusive marriage, gave advice on the drama
At the age of 16, Jasvinder herself ran away from home to escape an arranged marriage which she said would be violent and desperate
She was hoping that running away would change her parents’ minds about marriage and that they would just want their little girl to come home safely to Derby
Jasvinder, now 55, says, « What I didn’t expect them to say is, ‘You are dead in our eyes and I hope you don’t come back to anything, that you have a daughter who becomes a prostitute like that’s what you are to us that’s what my mom told me i was cut
« They don’t speak to me or my children The price I paid has been rejected The price to pay is murder »
After fleeing from her husband, she claimed in an interview with the police that he raped her, saying: “When he raped me, it was like I was his shoe that he could wear when he wanted I didn’t know if this was normal in my culture or here I was 17 «
Banaz, who moved to the UK at the age of 12 with her family as they fled the conflict in Iraq, went to the police five times telling them she feared her family was trying to kill her, but no one listened to her before it was too late
Jasvinder says: « I’m not sure today if a victim walks into a police station that she won’t get the same response as Banaz »
It has been 14 years since Banaz died, but in England and Wales only three of 43 police forces have been recognized as « prepared » to respond to honor-based abuse
Like Banaz, Jasvinder also « shamed » his family by refusing an arranged marriage
She says: « Today my family still see me as having no shame Someone who dishonored the family And I say my honor is their shame I have been disowned »
There are 12 to 15 honor killings reported per year in the UK, but that figure, says Jasvinder, is barely scratching the surface
She said: « Actually we have no idea how many murders have been committed in a year, how many unmarked graves in India, Pakistan, Egypt and Kurdistan These girls can be taken out of the country for treatment. UK-born subjects are murdered by family members for embracing British values, which are rooted in independence and freedom «
Since leaving the home of her Sikh parents, who moved from India to England in the 1950s, Jasvinder has campaigned against honor-based abuse after the horrific death of Robina, the family were told never to talk about her again Jasvinder says: « My mother was very clear about this
« They all have blood on their hands – if you could prevent a life-threatening event you are guilty
« I would say that about the police in terms of Banaz and other cases where the victims were abandoned »
In 2014, Jasvinder successfully campaigned to make forced marriage illegal, but so far there have been two convictions in over 1,000 cases The lockdown has made matters worse for many vulnerable people
She says: « These victims are chaperoned everywhere At school, college or even a doctor’s office where they could see a doctor on their own, it’s gone They are completely isolated »
Jasvinder hopes Honor opens people’s eyes, but fears nothing will change She says, « We will watch this movie, we will be deeply moved and think, ‘This is horrible’ But so what? »
ITV, Banaz Mahmod, Keeley Hawes, Drama
World News – UK – « Banaz Mahmod’s family had him killed for ‘honor’ – and it will happen again »
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com
