Murdered for "leading an un-Islamic life"

On Tuesday, a female provincial government minister was murdered in Pakistan. The minister, Zilla Huma Usman, was an advocate for women's rights who refused to wear a veil. For the Islamist fanatic who murdered her, these were reasons enough to take her life. According to the Times of London:

Zilla Huma Usman, the minister for social welfare in Punjab province and an ally of President Pervez Musharraf, was killed as she was about to deliver a speech to dozens of party activists, by a “fanatic”, who believed that she was dressed inappropriately and that women should not be involved in politics, officials said.

Usman, 35, was wearing the shalwar kameez worn by many professional women in Pakistan, but did not cover her head.


Agence France Presse's account of the murder offers some further details:

Officials said Huma was known for promoting women's rights.

"He killed her because she was not observing the Islamic code of dress. She was also campaigning for emancipation of women," local police officer Nazir Ahmad said.

"The suspect is an extremist and he has a history of targeting women whom he believed to be immoral."


The Times of India has a chilling quote from Huma Usman's murderer:

Muhammad Sarwar, the killer of Pakistani Punjab's woman minister Zil-e-Huma, believes that women cannot rule over men.

“I have no regrets. I killed her out of the conviction that she was leading an un-Islamic life and spreading an evil influence on other women,” Sarwar told interrogators in custody, according to a police source.

(Emphasis added-DD)


Yet another tragic manifestation of Islamist totalitarianism.