Speaking in light of the suspicious death of Seeta Kaur, MPs Naz Shah and Kate Osamor said British authorities must begin properly investigating so-called honour killings of UK women committed abroad to avoid law.
"Until we send a clear message to people not just in this country but abroad that actually you cannot commit this crime and get away with it- until we have some prosecutions from the British police, I'm not convinced we're going to get there," Shah said at an event in the Parliament calling for investigation on Kaur's death. Seeta Kaur, 33, was allegedly murdered by her husband while on a trip to India last year in a "classic case of honour killing." While her family was told by him that she died of a sudden heart attack, they have compiled enough evidence to prove that she was in fact strangled for disoveying him.
Lawyers and activists drew parallels between Kaur's death and those of other British women who died in similar circumstances on visits to India and Pakistan, including Samia Shahid's case championed by Shah herself. Shah said there was increasingly "some awareness" of the issue of women being killed in the manner alleged but responsed by authorities remained uneven in different parts of the country. Labour MP from Edmonton, where Kaur lived, Osamor said, "It is the extraterritorial nature of this crime that has made it so difficult to seek justice for Seeta. Honour killings should not be side-lined as an issue affecting only certain communities. This is a feminist issue."
Kaur's family said her body was secretly cremated against their will before an autopsy could be arranged against their will before an autopsy could be conducted. They also alleged seeing bruising on her body consistent with strangulation adding that they have amassed 26 witness statements corroborating allegations that she was a long-term victim of domestic violence.
Speaking at the event, Pranga Patel, director of the campaign group Southall Black Sisters said there was a difference between police responses to the deaths of non-white British nationals and white British nationals. "It seems as if there's a more proactive response when white British nationals are killed abroad but no when they are non-white British nationals," she said.
Lawyer acting for Kaur's family, Shamik Dutta said, "If our police forces are serious about honour-based violence and honour-based killing they must recognise the extraterritorial nature of that crime and make sure that perpetrators do not feel they have anywhere to hide. If they do not do so it only encourages that conduct and does nothing to any of those who seek to commit those offences."
