Shafilea Iftikhar Ahmed (Punjabi and Urdu: شفیلیہ افتخار احمد; 14 July 1986 – 11 September 2003) was a British-Pakistani girl who was murdered by her parents in an honour killing at the age of 17, due to her refusal to accept a forced marriage.
Iftikhar then visited Denmark and went to a party in his first weeks, when he met a Danish woman named Vivi Lone Anderson, who was a Christian.
A nationwide hunt was launched, but when Ahmed failed to seek treatment for her damaged throat, detectives became convinced she had been murdered in a possible honour killing[17] connected to her rejection of her Pakistani suitor.
[18][19][20] Superintendent Geraint Jones told the Daily Mirror that "her family say a suitor had been found for her in Pakistan, but she was free to make her own decisions.
"[21] In February 2004, Ahmed's dismembered remains were found after heavy flooding in the River Kent near Sedgwick, Cumbria, 70 miles (110 km) away from Warrington.
Police said the corpse was deliberately hidden, and a gold "zigzag" bracelet and blue topaz ring found with the body were identified by her parents.
[22] Inspector Mike Forrester of Cumbria Constabulary stated at an inquest hearing that "it was unclear whether all of Ahmed's body parts had been found" and that DNA tests "made it a one in a billion chance that the remains were those of anyone other than Shafilea".
Several of Shafilea's poems interested the police, notably "I Feel Trapped," which was interpreted as reflecting Ahmed's despairing emotional state and described a hopeless life with a family that ignored her, and that she had run away from home several times.
"[25] After three years, Cheshire Constabulary had not established a suspect, although eight members of Ahmed's extended family were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
[1] In January 2008, the coroner's inquest held that Ahmed was the victim of a "very vile murder",[27] having been taken from her home on Liverpool Road in Warrington; the verdict was unlawful killing.
[31][32] Their trial at Chester Crown Court began in May 2012, and they were both found guilty of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years on 3 August 2012.
"[19] Cheshire Police purposefully did not refer to events as an "honour killing", clarifying they do not legally recognise the term and that what had happened was simply murder.
In August 2012, the chief executive of Bradford Council for Mosques encouraged anybody knowing about the case to come forward and said his group would help police.
Shafilea was a caring, high-spirited and brave young lady who, even in her toughest times, always strove to remain positive and hopeful that she, too, would one day be able to live the peaceful and happy life she deserved.
Shafilea was an extremely intelligent young lady who we have no doubt would have accomplished her personal ambitions of becoming a lawyer, yet this opportunity was unfairly snatched away from her.
If there is one thing we pray will come from this, it is that her beautiful face and tragic story will inspire others to seek help to make them realise that this kind of vile treatment—no matter what culture or background someone is from—is not acceptable, and there is a way out.