Honour killing story: Razia M. (2020)

Razia M.
born: 1993
stabbed: July 6, 2020
Residence: Obergünzburg (Ostallgäu)
Origin: Afghanistan
Children: 2 daughters, 2 sons (4-14 years)
Perpetrator: Saleh M., her divorced living spouse (37 years old at the time of the crime)

Razia has 4 children at the age of 27. The eldest is 14 years old, which allows the conclusion that she was married at about 12 years of age. She still has 3 children and is divorcing her husband Saleh.

On 6 July 2020, her husband stabbed her in a public bus in Obergünzburg, Bavaria. Saleh has a criminal record for assaulting and threatening his wife in November 2019. The bus driver tries to detain Saleh. He flees and is arrested shortly after.

Schoolchildren became eyewitnesses of the crime. Razia dies in the hospital. The knife was found in the bus.

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.