By CBC News | Link to Article
A Pakistan journalist says the danger to 63-year-old Jamila Bibi is very real.
By CBC News | Link to Article
A Pakistan journalist says the danger to 63-year-old Jamila Bibi is very real.
Bibi was working as a cook in Saskatoon until her deportation to her native Pakistan. Her lawyer fears for her safety because of outstanding adultery charges, and the possibility of her being targetted for an honour killing.
Journalist Bina Shah says those fears are justified. She says that adultery charges are often used to mask other conflicts in a family.
“It’s very common for a woman to be accused of this when there is a previous conflict over something like land or inheritance, things like that. This isn’t uncommon at all, ” said Shah.
“Unfortunately, Pakistan has a widespread problem of violence against women.”
Shah says there is a disconnect between the law and reality.
“Pakistan unfortunately, has a culture in which women are not considered to be equal citizens.That is not our legal standing, but that is our standing of the mindset of a vast majority of Pakistanis.”
Lawyer Bashir Khan says Jamila Bibi was flown out of Toronto on Tuesday afternoon. She had been in detention in Prince Albert, Sask., until officials escorted her late Monday to Saskatoon. She flew out of Saskatoon early Tuesday morning.
Khan added his client has been barred from re-entering Canada on any visa in the future.
Bibi faces a criminal charge for adultery in Pakistan and Khan believes his client is at risk of being killed by her husband’s family in her native land.