Honor killings — in which a family member murders another member of the family for ostensibly disgracing the family — are justified, according to 10 percent of young British Asians. The BBC’s Asian Network reported that in its survey of 500 British Asians, aged 16 to 34 and including Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, and Muslims, 10 percent of the respondents said that they would condone an honor killing in their family.

Although there are officially only 13 honor killings in the UK per year, there are undoubtedly other successful or failed attempts that go unreported. The gory case of 25-year-old Samaira Nazir’s murder at the hands of her brother and his cousin brought to light the phenomenon of honor killings in Britain. Azhar Nazir and his cousin Imran Mohammed took four knives to Samaira Nazir’s throat and body and stabbed her to death with her father’s complicity. Azhar Nazir’s two daughters, aged 2 and 4, were forced to watch and were covered in blood when the police arrived. Samaira Nazir was murdered for asking to marry an Afghani asylum seeker.

Mimi Hanaoka