Shafilea Ahmed

**Shafilea Iftikhar Ahmed** (July 14, 1986 - September 11, 2003) was a British-Pakistani girl who was murdered by her parents in a suspected honour killing at the age of 17, due to their belief that she had become too Westernised.

## Events

### Backstory

Shafilea lived in the Great Sankey area of Warrington, Cheshire with her parents, brother and four sisters. She attended Priestley College and was studying for her A-Levels in hopes of becoming a solicitor.

During a trip to Pakistan earlier in 2003, Ahmed had swallowed bleach in what was reported to be a suicide attempt. Her parents claimed this had been a simple mistake and that she had drunk the bleach during a power cut because she thought it was mouth wash, a claim prosecutors called "a stupid and obvious lie".

Ahmed suffered extensive damage to her throat for which she was having regular ongoing care at the time of her disappearance. It is thought that her suicide attempt was as result of an attempted forced marriage.

### Disappearance

Shafilea disappeared 11 September 2003, and had been missing for a week before her teachers informed the police.

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" connected to her rejection of her Pakistani suitor.

On 4 February 2004, Ahmed's dismembered remains were found after heavy flooding in the River Kent.

### Murder

On the night on her murder, Shafilea's mother picked her up from outside her work as she always did, to find Shafilea talking to a boy as she waited for her mother. Once home, an argument ensued after a member of the community had called Shafilea's father, telling him that she was "running around in just a t-shirt".

Her parents thought Shafilea had brought shame upon their family. Iftikar conducted his usual pattern of abuse towards Shafilea, punching and kicking. Farzana reportedly told Iftikar to "finish it", which is when both Farzana and Iftikar Ahmed held Shafilea down, covering her face and shoving a plastic bag down her throat.

The murder happened in front of Shafilea's siblings as a "deterrent" for them acting the way Shafilea did. Once Shafilea was dead, the other children were told to go to bed. They presume Iftikar took Shafilea's body away in the night as the next morning, there was no trace of the murder the night before.

### Aftermath

Ahmed's younger sister Alesha arranged a robbery that took place at her parents' house on 25 August 2010, during which she, her brother, sisters, and parents were in the house. She was arrested and told police that her parents had killed Ahmed. She told police that after trying to force Ahmed to accept the arranged marriage, her parents were afraid her refusal would bring shame on the family, and so they killed her.

On 7 September 2011, Cheshire Police announced that Ahmed's parents had been charged with her murder. Their trial 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.

On 14 July 2015, the first National Day of Memory for Victims of Honour Killings was held. Organised by the Leeds-based charity Karma Nirvana, it is held annually on Ahmed's birthday.

## News

*For news articles on Shafilea Ahmed, see here.*

## External links

* Murder of Shafilea Ahmed • Wikipedia
* Shafilea Ahmed • Find a Grave
* Sentencing Remarks • Judiciary of England and Wales

## In popular media

### Podcasts

* RedHanded - *Episode 89 - Shafilea Ahmed: The Price of "Honour"* (2019)

### Television

* Cold Case Killers - *The Murder of Shafilea Ahmed* (28 October 2021)
* Deadliest Mums & Dads - *The Honour Killing* (27 November 2021)
* Judge Rinder's Crime Stories - *Shafilea Ahmed* (18 May 2018)
* Killer Britain with Dermot Murnaghan (11 April 2022)
* When Missing Turns to Murder - *Shafilea Ahmed* (15 April 2019)