Reference: MP defends killing, Bangkok Post, August 31, 2008

Five young women - three of them teenagers - in northwest Pakistan, were rounded up and shot because they had expressed a desire to choose their own husbands. The bodies, while still alive and breathing, were thrown into a ditch and covered with mud. The action was defended by the tribesmen and by a member of Pakistan's parliament as "centuries old tradition". It is a cautionary tale for those who believe in the sanctity of tradition. Human sacrifices, slavery, racism, and witch burning were all deep rooted traditions once. No social practice or value can be defended on the strength of tradition alone. Some traditions are bad and they need to be abolished.

(The photo of Pakistani high school girls shown above was randomly selected from the internet and is not directly related to the story.)

Cha-am Jamal
Thailand