No Safe Place: Murdered by Our Father

(Paperback)

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'My life will always be in danger. My beautiful sister Banaz Mahmod was murdered in an 'honour killing' ordered by our father and uncle. If those evil men find me, they will kill me too.'

Bekhal Mahmod was one of six siblings from a Sunni Muslim family in Iraqi Kurdistan who sought a new life as asylum seekers and arrived in London in 1998.

When Bekhal's father tried to force her into an arranged marriage at 15, she ran away. This caused her father to 'lose respect' within the Kurdish community and Bekhal became the target of an honour killing and her younger sisters Banaz and Payzee were quickly married off to restore the family's reputation.

When Banaz left her husband, claiming he'd beaten and raped her, Mahmod decided this 'shame' to the family meant Banaz must die. Within weeks, she had vanished.

Her body was finally discovered, crammed into a suitcase and buried in a garden in Birmingham. Banaz, age 20, had been raped and killed in a sickening plot orchestrated by her father and uncle.

Still fearing for her own life, Bekhal bravely faced her father and uncle in court - making her the first female in British legal history to give evidence against family members in an honour killing trial - and won justice for her beloved sister Banaz.

Bekhal now has a new identity after entering the police witness protection programme. She lives in terror of her father's release from jail.

This is her story.

Reviews

Banazs courageous and campaigning sister, Bekhal, and the distinguished legal reformer Dr Hannana Siddiqui here document the full horror of the violence which can be experienced by women in our minority communities . . . no cultural justification should be made for so-called crimes of honour. * Baroness Helena Kennedy QC *

'This remarkable book by Bekhal and co-writer Hannana Siddique, reveals their awesome courage and compels us to ask: How can this be happening in Britain Why does it go on When will it end Can we feminists be as brave and uncompromising...and build up momentum to stop culturally sanctioned crimes against females It is time.'

* Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, author and journalist *

Bekhal Mahmods story of how she escaped being murdered by her own familyis a shocking indictment of a community that prized patriarchy over life. The fact that Bekhals sister had to die before the authorities took Bekhals pleas for help seriously shames a nation. This is a brave and troubling anatomy of a twenty-first-centuryhonour killing and the long fight for justice.

* Robert Verkaik, author of Jihadi John *

'We already know the end of Banaz Mahmods story. Now, her sister, Bekhal, tells us the beginning. Heartbreaking and compelling, its a tough read but one that must be shared.'

* Joy Kluver, author of Last Seen, Broken Girls, Left for Dead *

I was immediately struck by her courage and both moved and inspired by her unflinching spirit.Bekhals strength of character is shown on every page of this book. The resilience she shows in the face of abuse is inspiring... Anyone who wants to understand how honour culture operates and the effect it has on women and girls needs to read this heartbreaking and compelling book.

* Deeyah Khan, director of the documentary Banaz: A Love Story *

A heart-breaking, powerful and crucially important story from an incredibly brave woman

* Jess Phillips MP *

A staggering story, beautifully written! And an important insight into both paralysis and heroic resistance . . . from the first pages, I felt myself gasping with the shock of it, and yet driven to read on, and on . . . takes us to the geopolitics of fundamentalist faith and power, to visceral fright, resistance and to the wonderful Southall Black Sisters.

* Beatrix Campbell OBE, writer and activist *

Bekhal Mahmod is one of the bravest people Ive ever met.In the face of constant threats to her own life, and angry exclusion by the rest of her family, she held fast to the memory of her beloved sister, murdered on the orders of their own father. Banaz chose love, and died for it; in defending her, Bekhal chose the path of true honour. Her vivid account of the price both sisters paid is raw and heartbreaking

* Gwyneth Hughes, screenwriter of ITV series Honour *

Written from witness protection, this is a heartbreaking & incredibly important book telling the true story of the death of [Bekhal Mahmods] sister Banaz in a so-called honour killing & detailing the quest for justice that followed. Essential reading for everybody

* Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project *

When I first met Bekhal at a tree-planting ceremony in Leatherhead for victims of honour-based violence, I was overwhelmed by this very dedicated young woman wanting to leave a lasting tribute to her sister . . . her book is truly a vivid account of her journey, a must-read for all investigators and professionals dealing with honour-based abuse. It articulates the long-lasting painful effects it has on the families left behind.

* Dr Clive Driscoll, Detective Chief Inspector, Metropolitan Police *

Author Bio

Bekhal Mahmod is admired for giving prosecution evidence against her father, uncle and male cousins for the honour killing of her sister, Banaz Mahmod. Her relatives were all convicted of murder or related crimes. She is the first female sibling in the UK to do so. Bekhal also faced threats and attempts to kill her after she left home as a teenager due to abuse and pressures to have a child marriage. She is now on a witness protection scheme, but still in fear of her life. Bekhal has given numerous media interviews, including in an Emmy award-winning documentary, Banaz, A Love Story. She was also depicted in the popular ITV drama Honour, which starred Keeley Hawes. Bekhal is campaigning to introduce a Banazs Law to prevent cultural excuses for murder or honour violence. In 2011, Bekhal was nominated for the True Honour Award for her courage in court and campaigning.

Dr Hannana Siddiqui is an award-winning author, expert and activist on violence against black and ethnic minority women and girls. She has been a leading member of the renowned black feminist organisation Southall Black Sisters, for thirty-six years. Hannana has supported over 10,000 women and girls facing domestic and sexual abuse, forced marriage, honour violence, immigration, poverty and destitution, and suicide and self-harm problems. She has successfully campaigned to make major legal and policy reform as well as change conservative cultural and religious attitudes and practices which discriminate against women and girls within minority communities. Hannana has supported Bekhal Mahmod since 2006 to achieve justice for her sister, Banaz, and to end honour violence. She formulated Banazs Law and is currently campaigning with Bekhal to introduce this new law to re-frame cultural defences to honour crimes as aggravating offences and acts of dishonour.