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Muhammad Parvez, the girl's father, appeared in the court on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2007. 
Waqas Parvez, 26, is seen in this artist's rendition during court proceedings in Brampton, Ont. 
Sean Muhammed Parvez is the victim's brother and was at the courthouse to see his father appear before a judge. |
Updated Wed. Dec. 12 2007 9:47 PM ET
toronto.ctv.ca
A Mississauga, Ont. man has been charged with murder in the death of his teenaged daughter, according to a police press release.
Muhammad Parvez, a 57-year-old cab driver, was ordered not to communicate with his 26-year-old son Waqas, who faces a charge of obstructing police during their investigation.
Dressed in an orange jumpsuit, Parvez mumbled "yes" when asked if he understood the judge's order.
Parvez was remanded into custody after being denied bail. His next court appearance is set for Jan. 29.
Aqsa Parvez, 16, was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries on Monday after police said a man called 911 and said he had killed his daughter. The teen succumbed to her injuries on Monday night.
An autopsy determined the cause of death to be "neck compression," according to a police press release issued late Wednesday afternoon.
Friends of the girl said she had been involved in a family dispute over her choice not to wear a hijab, the traditional Muslim head scarf.
Police have not commented on a motive or how the girl was attacked.
A publication ban was imposed on details that came out in court on Wednesday.
Two of Parvez's sons, along with a friend, attended the hearing. Outside court, one brother said he didn't believe there had been a culture clash, CTV's John Vennavally-Rao reported.
Sean Muhammed Parvez told reporters he wasn't sure what exactly led to his sister's death.
"We don't know so far; we are upset," he said.
Parvez's lawyer, Joseph Ciraco, told reporters that the family is distraught.
"It's clearly a tragedy," Ciraco said. "You've got a sister that's gone and a father and brother in jail."
Ciraco said his client has a heart condition and will have to see a doctor before his next court date.
Aqsa Parvez
The victim, an Applewood Heights Secondary School student, often complained of her situation at home, her friends told CTV News on Tuesday.
The students said Parvez no longer wanted to wear a hijab, a shoulder-length head scarf worn by some Muslim women. They also said Parvez would often change her clothing once she got to school and then would change back before going home.
"People said her brothers and sisters followed her to see if she was wearing her headscarf or not," one student said.
Parvez had recently been staying with a friend because of tension at home, classmates said.
"Her dad was threatening her and she was getting scared and she just didn't want to live there anymore," another student said.
Parvez's death has again raised the issue of so-called honour killings.
'Honour killings'
The United Nations estimates at least 5,000 women a year are killed for committing adultery, defying tradition, or for simply talking to the wrong man and thereby bringing shame upon relatives.
Exact numbers are impossible to know because the majority of such murders -- women are the main victims -- go unreported and the guilty unpunished.
United Muslim Women of Canada's Anisa Ali said the public shouldn't assume that honour killings only happen in the Muslim community.
"It's not an Islamic practice," Ali told CTV's Canada AM on Wednesday. "There's nowhere in the Qur'an where it talks about honour killings. It's more of a cultural phenomenon."
She said honour killings are not limited to Islamic countries like Pakistan, Jordan, Syria and Afghanistan.
"There's Latin American countries, it has taken place in Germany, in Britain," she said. "A lot of it is under the guise of family honour or religious values."
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