Free Republic

TEHRAN, Feb 23 (AFP) - Five Iranian girls from different villages around the southern city of Shiraz burned themselves to death last week because their families refused to let them work, the conservative daily Jomhoury-e-Eslami reported on Sunday. All the girls, aged between 14 and 23, died in hospital after setting themselves alight, the paper said, quoting a social worker as saying they were suffering from cultural and economic deprivation. Iranian women in the smaller towns and villages where age-old social and religious customs are stronger enjoy less freedom than those in the larger cities. Half the population is aged...

A 18 year old boy from Spijkernisse stabbed his three years younger sister on Tuesday. The Afghan stabbed his sister because she did not act according to the values and norms of their culture. The victim suffered a perforated lung, but is not in accurate danger of dying. The stabbing took place at the local fair in Spijkernisse. At 8:45 in the evning the brother and sister had an argument about the way of life of the girl. With a small knife he stabbed his sister multiple times, according the police Rotterdam-Rijnmond. When the girl collapsed, the boy kicked her...