Pakistani parents forced daughter to abort, tried to make her marry cousin

A Pakistani couple in their mid 50s

forced their 22-year-old daughter to abort after she got

pregnant by a man they didn't approve of and tried to force her

to marry her cousin in Pakistan in a case that echoes the tragic

tale of Saman Abbas, a young woman murdered by her family for

refusing an arranged marriage in Pakistan.

The young woman rebelled after years of abuse near Reggio Emilia

and reported her parents, who have now been sentenced to over

two years in jail for systematic abuse.

The woman was locked in the basement at night, deprived of her

cell phone, slapped, forced to kneel, and beaten with her face

smashed against the floor. And then she was forced to go to

Pakistan and threatened if she didn't agree to an engagement and

marriage to a cousin.

Finally, when it was discovered that she had become pregnant by

a young boyfriend whom her family deemed unsuitable, she was

punched in the abdomen and back and forced to have an abortion.

The victim, however, found the courage to rebel and has now

started a new life.

The couple, aged 54 and 51, who now live in another province,

were sentenced to two years and 15 days for mistreatment and

attempted forced marriage.

The story, in the lower Reggio Emilia area, brings to mind that

of Saman Abbas, the 18-year-old Pakistani woman killed on May 1,

2021, in Novellara near Reggio, where she was found buried in

the ground after a year and a half of searching.

On appeal, her father, mother, two cousins, and her uncle were

sentenced to life in prison, and her uncle was sentenced to 22

years.

A hearing in the Supreme Court of Cassation is scheduled for

June 17.

This time, the young woman, also Pakistani, filed a complaint

with the Carabinieri, which led to a very different outcome: she

is alive, unlike Saman.

Meanwhile, her father and mother have been sentenced.

The first-instance trial in Reggio Emilia concludes a complex

investigation by the Carabinieri of Boretto, along with the

Operations and Mobile Unit of Guastalla, coordinated by the

Prosecutor's Office headed by Calogero Gaetano Paci.

The abuse began in 2017 and continued until 2023.

In December 2022, upon discovering her pregnancy, the young

woman was beaten and forced to abort, under threat of having her

aborted in Pakistan and of being removed from their home if the

pregnancy continued.

In addition to the physical abuse, her parents allegedly

repeatedly attempted to force her into arranged marriages with

men of their choosing, taking away her cell phone to isolate her

from outside contact.

Despite her fear, the girl managed to confide in the Carabinieri

and then opened up to the magistrate in charge of the

investigation and to the prosecutor Paci.

Following her statements, a precautionary restraining order was

issued, in which the judge emphasized that the behavior was an

expression of a "chauvinistic and despotic" vision, incompatible

with the fundamental rights guaranteed by Italian law.

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