BCIFV home > Letter to the Editor > May 6, 2002

For Immediate Release: May 6, 2002
Contact: Penny Bain, phone: 604-669-7055 or 1 877-755-7055 or
pbain@bcifv.org or www.bcifv.org

Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

In this world, where so many different cultures are striving to find a way to live together in peace, it is vital that each of us work toward tolerance of other cultures. Yet there are some things that should not be tolerated any time, or anywhere - things for which culture is too often used as an excuse.

One of these things is murder. Dilbag Nahar (Husband was provoked: lawyer, April 30) killed his wife. Of this there is no question. The charge is murder, but his lawyer is suggesting that, for cultural reasons, his wife leaving him should be considered provocation and the charge should be reduced to manslaughter.

If Nahar's defense were to be accepted, then when Marc Chahal killed Rajwar Gakhal and eight family members in Vernon in 1996, he would only have been guilty of eight counts of murder: Gakhal's death would have been manslaughter because she provoked him by leaving him. How much sense would this make?

Dilbag Nahar was not provoked; on the contrary, Kanwaljeet fled their marriage to escape his beatings. He killed her because he was angry that she resisted his abuse and domination. This is not tolerable in this or any culture. We need not look far to find women and men of every culture who spend their lives trying to hammer this truth home. Murder is murder is murder. It cannot be justified on cultural grounds. To set such a precedent would set back the rights of women the world over by hundreds of years.

Sincerely,
Penny Bain
Executive Director
BC Institute Against Family Violence

For more information, contact Penny Bain, Executive Director of the BC Institute Against Family Violence at 669-7055 or
1 877-755-7055, pbain@bcifv.org or www.bcifv.org.

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