Honour killing in Kerala, India: Father murders underage daughter over relationship with non-Muslim boy

Teenage girl
Age: 14
Poisoned: October 29, 2023
Residence: Karumalloor, Kerala
Origin: India
Children: she was a child herself
Perpetrator: Father Abees Muhammed (43)

On October 29, Abees Muhammed, a 43-year-old engineer from Karumalloor, attacked his 14-year-old Muslim daughter and forced her to eat herbicide. The heinous act was in response to her relationship with a non-Muslim boy at her school. The teenage girl did not survive the attack; she died at a private hospital in Kochi on Tuesday, November 7.

Investigations revealed that Abees Muhammed attacked his daughter with an iron bar when he discovered she was having contact with her boyfriend. Despite warnings, the girl continued the relationship.

Attempts by the victim's mother to intervene during the attack were in vain. The girl had ingested a significant amount of herbicide and suffered severe internal damage, leading to her death.

Prior to the fatal act, there was a heated argument between the victim and her father. Abees Muhammed gave her an ultimatum and threatened that she had to swallow the herbicide and if she did not do so there would be serious consequences. Earlier, he had destroyed her phone when he caught her communicating with her boyfriend, but she continued to communicate with her boyfriend by using another phone.

After the murder, Abees Muhammed was arrested. Initially, Abees claimed that his daughter had committed suicide on her own initiative. However, statements from the victim and her mother contradicted this, claiming that Abees forced her to swallow the herbicide to end her life because of the unapproved relationship.

What is an honour killing?

An honour killing is a murder in the name of honour. If a brother murders his sister to restore family honour, it is an honour killing. According to activists, the most common reasons for honour killings are as the victim:

refuses to cooperate in an arranged marriage.
wants to end the relationship.
was the victim of rape or sexual assault.
was accused of having a sexual relationship outside of marriage.

Human rights activists believe that 100,000 honour killings are carried out every year, most of which are not reported to the authorities and some are even deliberately covered up by the authorities themselves, for example because the perpetrators are good friends with local policemen, officials or politicians. Violence against girls and women remains a serious problem in Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Serbia and Turkey.