Daughter dies in honour killing
2007-01-25 17:25
Amman - A Jordanian man shot dead his 17-year-old daughter and surrendered to police, saying he had done it for family honour, a state forensic pathologist said on Thursday.
The father suspected his daughter of having sex and continued to doubt her chastity even after a clinic said she was a virgin, said the pathologist, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity owing to the sensitivity of the issue.
The father shot her four times in the head on Tuesday. A post-mortem was performed on Wednesday, and this showed "she was still a virgin," the pathologist said.
The authorities have not disclosed the names of the father or the daughter or even their town, saying only that they lived in a southern province.
The crime is the first "honor killing" this year. On average about 20 women are killed by their relatives each year in Jordan where many men consider sex out of wedlock to be an almost indelible stain on a family's reputation.
- AP