Female Pakistani minister shot dead for ‘breaking Islamic dress code’

From the UK’s “Times Online” comes this story:

Female Pakistani minister shot dead for ‘breaking Islamic dress code’

A Pakistani minister and woman’s activist has been shot dead by an Islamic extremist for refusing to wear the veil.

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.

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

…

The gunman, Mohammad Sarwar, was overpowered by the minister’s driver and arrested by police. A stone mason in his mid 40s, he is not thought to belong to any radical group but is known for his fanaticism. He was previously held in 2002 in connection with the killing and mutilation of four prostitutes, but was never convicted due to lack of evidence.

Mr Sarwar appeared relaxed and calm when he told a television channel that he had carried out God’s order to kill women who sinned. “I have no regrets. I just obeyed Allah’s commandment,” he said, adding that Islam did not allow women to hold positions of leadership. “I will kill all those women who do not follow the right path, if I am freed again,” he said.

It’s just so outrageous and evil I can barely comprehend it.

So far I have not seen any outrage expressed about this. You’d think that somone, some human rights organization somewhere, could put out a press release or something. And given that the fanatic committed this murder in the name of Islam, wouldn’t you think that somone in a position of authority in the Islamic faith would speak out against what’s being done in Islam’s name? So far, I haven’t seen any. At least no statements have made it into Google’s search engine yet. In the land of free speech, has Keith Ellison, the Islamic member of the House of Representatives spoken out? Nothing on his official U.S. House web site. No press release. No statement. No nothing.

True. Ms Usman was a relatively minor political official in a country far far away. It’s easy for the news of her death to fall below the din and roar of daily world politics. And people aren’t obligated to issue a press release everytime an innocent person is gunned down in the streets. Still. I wish someone would speak out and lament her death. It would help me feel a little bit better about it. A little bit at least.

The only silver lining I can latch on to is that, in theory, Pakistan is a secular state with an (officially at least) liberal, democratic government committed to protecting human rights. Mr. Sarwar was apprehended and arrested. Hopefully he will receive every bit of justice he deserves. We shall see.

And that’s the reminder I take from the story. The reason we institute secular governments is to create an environment where people of different religous beliefs and backgrounds can coexist peacefully. I hope Pakistan lives up to this ideal. And I hope for secular democratic governments in areas of the world were such religious fanaticism leads to the murder of innocent people.

I think I will set up a Google News Search Filter for Sarwar’s name and see if there are any reports on the legal proceedings. Should be interesting. I can do at least that much to bear witness to the injustice.