The team’s uniform says on them ‘there is no honour in honour killings.’ We believe in this so strongly that we decided to specially make these uniforms exactly for the purpose of honour killings for the Manchester ladies.
We know that there are many different problems that women go through but right now because this particular problem involves killing young teenagers, we have to take action fast if no one else is prepared to do it. We are not just helping families that have had their women killed for stupid idiotic reasons such as, the daughter of the family can’t marry who she wants, women in the marriage are beaten up by their husband’s, they cant work, earn money for their own. Many women out there are trapped in her own house. Only once we have more women that have escaped this brutal life to get in contact with the AGAINST KILLING’S team, only then they can help women that are living this horrible dark life.
We have come in Manchester today because we have looked at the rates from the Manchester metropolitan police records of rapes, women not working, disturbance in marriages and family groups. It is relatively high in Manchester, especially with the more Asian culture that is presented here, because of their culture and traditions.
The team are here for every woman in the U.K whatever culture or background you are from.
We have joining with us today our very own symbol representing the team wherever we go, her name is Kiran Jeet Ahluwalia. Kiran suffered extreme violence for 11 years in her marriage by her husband Deepak, one day she snapped and burned the husband to death. And no is not some kind of disturbed or crazy women. This is the women that actually changed the laws of Britain to get justice. Provocation defence and Regina vs. Ahluwalia was now a new law that raised the attention of women being abused by husbands. Abused women can use this to get their freedom and this is all thanks to Kiran.
We came to Kiran when she was still in prison to help her with her appeal. She was in court before we came to see her, she was found guilty after the trail but the AGAINST KILLING’S team carried on helping her no matter how long it had taken. We were laughed at the fact that the court could not prove Kiran innocent and that the team is still trying to prove her innocence.
Time was running out for her time of appeal. Kiran said she wants to stay in prison because she feels free. She did not know at the time that her husband had died. When she found out she had taken our offer to help her. She broken by the fact that she cannot see her children again but the AGAINST KILLING’S team claimed a court order for her mother in law to let the kids see their mother.
We found a letter that Kiran wrote to her husband after an argument they had. She said, ‘please come home Deepak I wont drink black coffee and I wont watch TV the boys need you please come home.’ Kiran’s mother in law sat against her saying in court that she is arrogant and ordered Deepak around. But the mother in law witnessed some of the beatings but still proclaimed to have not seen anything.
Kiran herself was too ashamed to write statements and talk in court herself, but as time passed, Kiran started to feel more and more confident especially after her English had been improved she felt that she can talk. So she was asked by the team to write a statement that we can present in one of our events.
‘I was born in the village of chakalal in Punjab. My father died few days after I was born and my mother when I was just 16. They both wanted me to become a lawyer but my husband did not allow me to carry on with my studies. My culture is like my blood flowing through every vein of my body it is the culture in which I was born which sees the women as the honour of the house in order to uphold this false honour, she stops to endure many kinds of oppression and pain in silence. A woman is a toy a plaything broken at will and stuck together at will. For ten years I lived a life of beatings and no one noticed I came out of my husband’s jail and entered the jail of the law it is here at last that I have found a kind of freedom.’
What we tried to do was make the trial use provocation as defence but it did not apply to the case, because although Deepak did beat Kiran on the night the murder happened two hours later. She had the time to cool down and think but she was being controlled by her feelings. If Kiran had used her self defence straight away then she could have gotten away with murder.
At the time the AGAINST KILLING’S team had low funds then. We needed a barrister to work for no money but there was no one around. In prison Kiran befriended Ronnie. Ronnie’s brother was a barrister and decided to help Kiran as a favour for his sister.
Kiran was emotionally and physically mentally abused for 11 years one day she snapped and she boiled over instead of cooling down after two hours that she was beaten. We used this as the bases of the appeal. The judge failed to mention Kiran’s history of abuse and a battered woman this amounted to misdirection of the jury
We seeked appeal on 3 grounds. One for the correct meaning of the word provocation to give to the jury. This is ‘an act which would cause any reasonable person a sudden and temporary loss of self control not making the person in control of his or her own mind.’ After 11 years of beatings and humiliation Kiran was provoked into setting fire to her husband in no kind of self control in mind.
Second ground Kiran was suffering form Battered woman’s syndrome that was not in the learned lawyers list to call out in court.
The third ground James O’Conner who approached Kiran on the night of the murder he stated that and Kiran was lucid and aware of her surroundings but was told to lie in court. Kiran was not aware that anybody was even around her ‘it was as if she had dreamt that she had set fire to her husband.’
Friday 25th July 1992 in the royal courts of justice reduced her sentence and law accepted her 3 years and 5 months in prison as her full term and she was set free. When she came out she stated a few words ‘in life there is no honour in silence sufferings no affection or comfort to be found in love that has been abused it is our responsibility as mothers to raise our sons to treat women with love and respect not violence and anger only then will the suffering end my story is a part of the picture that may not be important but the issue is please do not forget that there are many women who need help form you please. Prison was never really a bad place for Kiran but a first step to freedom.’
And with that ladies and gentleman, that was all the women’s in the world, first step to call out to us. That year was hectic for us because non stop we had women calling in and asking us for help and we have helped them; we have fixed so many lives and relationships, we are in constant contact with the abused women even after they don’t need the help, that is our way to help women, no matter how bad the situation is whether you don’t know how to cook dhal and roti even then we are there, just pick up the phone, we are onto it straight away.
We have up to 300 branches all over the world and we wanna help, but we can only help if we know who the women are and them women need to talk. We don’t care if they don’t come to use even if they go to another women help group we will feel that we have helped somehow and that the abused woman has found freedom somehow.
Thank you.