The murder of a young Kurdish woman by her own father for refusing an arranged marriage, has left the Swedish nation shocked and stunned.
Fadime Sahindal, who was murdered in the university city of Uppsala last month, was an outspoken champion for second-generation immigrants rights. Her father confessed to killing her, according to prosecutors, because she wanted to marry a Swede rather than contract an aranged union. She became a victim of the brutal tradition of honour killing she had bravely campaigned against.
Among the almost 2,000 mourners attending the memorial service in Uppsala’s 15th-century Gothic cathedral on Monday was Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria. Outside, the hymns and speeches were broadcast to more than 1,000 people. Fadime's lawyer, Leif Ericksson, said the service was according to her wishes, which the slain activist’s family respected even though she was Muslim.
Victoria broke down as those present – of both Muslim and Christian extraction - prayed before the black laquered coffin in which the 26-year-old’s body was laid to rest. Also among the mourners were the president of the Swedish Parliament, Birgitta Dahl, Archbishop Amar, the highest representative of the Swedish Protestant Church, and the minister for immigration Mona Sahl.
In his homily, the dean of the Lutheran cathedral, the Very-Reverend Tuulikki Koivunen, spoke of the great sadness that had engulfed “the entire nation” in the wake of the murder. He called Fadime a “martyr”.
The coffin was carried out of the church by six female relatives, while Fadime's mother followed. She was buried in a private ceremony near the grave of her Swedish boyfriend, who died in a car crash in 1998. Following the murder, the police have decided to reopen the investigation into his death.
Fadime’s death allegedly followed years of harassment after she refused to return to the family homeland in Turkey for an arranged marriage and pursued an independent lifestyle. She often spoke out, both in parliamentary and television debates, about the conditions faced by thousands of Muslim women in Sweden.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
