Canadians denounce honor
killing during vigil held on the International
Day for Human Rights -By: Jai Birdi
Candle Light Vigil:
In memory of Harwinder Singh Saroya,
victim of alleged ‘honor-killing’ in
Punjab, India
December
10th – 4:00 PM
Holland Park, 100 Ave and King
George in Surrey, BC
While Article 21 of the Indian
Constitution provides commitment that no
person shall be deprived of his life or
personal except according to procedures
established by law, the practice of
honour killing continues to exist.
Recent victim of such practice is
Harwinder Saroya of Punjab, 22 years of
age. Harwinder Saroya was killed by
parents of girl he loved and the girl
belonged to a higher caste land owning
family.
To
denounce this practice that is not only
confined to India, but is also prevalent
across the Globe, Canadians are invited
to a candle light vigil that is planned
for Saturday, December 10, at the
Holland Park in Surrey, at 4:00 PM. The
vigil is dedicated to Harwinder Singh
Saroya and all others who were killed by
their families, or others, in the name
of ‘crime of honor’ or “honor killing”.
Recognizing the scope of this issue and
to strengthen its means to address this
heinous practice, The Law Commission of
India has proposed legislation, “The
Endangerment of Life and Liberty Act
(2011). Although this legislation will
be additional resource, whether it will
be implemented successfully or not is a
concern.
Surrey resident Gurnek Bangar,
brother-in-law of Saroya, states that
even though the alleged offenders of his
brother-in law in Punjab are charged,
the police has still not made any
arrest. So he said he was even more
concerned when he heard the false news
reports that Saroya had committed
suicide and yet police failed to do its
due diligence and take appropriate
actions.
After hearing the news of Saroya’s
killing and reading a recent report
published in The Vancouver Sun and
learning that practice of honor-killing
is on the rise in Canada, a group of
concerned Canadians decided to hold the
vigil on December 10, the International
Day for Human Rights with the intent to
increase awareness.
According to the CBC World Report,
following victims of alleged honor
killing in Canada are cited:
·
Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu- killed in 2000 at
the age of 25
·
Amandeep Atwal – killed in 2003 at the
age of 17
·
Kahtera Sidiqi – killed in 2006 at the
age of 20
·
Aqsa Parvez – killed in 2007 at the age
of 16
·
The Shafia family – 3 sisters (Zainab,
19; Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13) killed in
2009
