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Media Coverage of the Shafia Murder Trial
The coverage of the Shafia murder trial was widespread, often being on the front page of newspapers and the top story in TV newscasts. Since the case involved Afghan Canadians, questions arose as to whether or not it is correct or even appropriate to call the murders honor killing or simply domestic violence. While the judge who deliberated on the case referred to the atrocious act simply as murder, the media chose a different course when it called the murder honor killing. Across media outlets, the murder was framed as such. A publication ban placed on the case prevented the media from naming the four children that are still alive.

CBC
The CBC covered the trials from day 1 and went a step further by publishing its audience's comments to show how Canadians feel about the case and its details. The CBC stated that the story garnered many comments from the viewers but that they decided to publish a select few. Furthermore, the CBC did a "summary" of the comments and said that people generally "agreed with the verdict, applauding the court and the jury for its decision after the three-month trial." Following are some of the comments the CBC

"The jury's verdict sends a strong message that honour killings will not be tolerated in Canada! A just decision!" - wandasparkes "Now they can finally rest in peace. What a tragic ending to such beautiful women." - mercyj "The only good news in a sad story." - Mistrusted "Conspiracies can be very difficult to prove but the testimony of the mother and father helped put the nails in their own coffins. The Crown and the investigators did an excellent job." Just another Canuck.

CTV
CTV News published a piece saying that the trial has cast a shadow over Canada's Islamic community, further tarnishing an image that has not yet recovered from the events of 911. But like other media outlets, CTV has asked the Muslim community to clarify their stance on the issue of honor killing. “Muslims across the country, however, say the revelations in a Kingston, Ont., courtroom have shone a light on problematic aspects of their culture and illuminated new ways to tackle the issues.”

CTV also published a timeline of not just the events that took place in Canada but also going back all the way to the Shafia family’s days in Afghanistan.

Ottawa Citizen
Pascale Fourniersaid writing for the Ottawa Citizen said that there was a greater tragedy in the failure of the state to intervene before the murders occurred, and that vulnerable groups from immigrant communities need the most protection but rarely get it.

The Globe and Mail
In addition to covering every detail of the trial, The Globe and Mail published a piece with the "ten most shocking quotes" from the Shafia trial one of which was by Crown attorney Gerard Laarhuis after the verdicts which is as follows:

“This jury found that four strong, vivacious and freedom-loving women were murdered by their own family in the most troubling of circumstances. We all think of these four, wonderful women now who died needless deaths. This verdict sends a very clear message about our Canadian values and the core principles in a free and democratic society that all Canadians enjoy and even visitors to Canada enjoy.”

This was one of the most criticized quotes by Afghan Canadians as they asserted that intolerance towards violence against women is not just a Canadian value but a universal value and Afghans like any other peoples condemn the acts of the perpetrators.

Montreal Gazette
The Montreal Gazette published a column in which it said that labelling the murders as honor killing is a mistake because domestic violence against women is ubiquitous and framing it into a particular gategory would mean distancing oneself from a crime that is all too common. The authors argue that premeditation is put forth as a core component to differentiate honour killings from other types of murders, such as crimes of convenience or crimes of passion. However, recent studies indicate that premeditation is as much a component in other cases of domestic violence and murder as it is in "honour killings."

"Calling the murders "honour killings" accomplishes two goals. First, it makes it seem as if femicide is a highly unusual event. Second, it makes it seem as if femicide is confined to specific populations within Canada and specific national cultures or religions in the world at large. But Canadian statistics prove otherwise. Ac-cording to StatsCan figures, from 2000 to 2009 an average of 58 women a year were killed in this country as a result of spousal violence. In that same period, 67 children and young people aged 12 to 17 were murdered by family members. In contrast, recent estimates tell us that there have been 12 or 13 so-called honour killings in Canada in the last decade. It does not take a genius to see that comparing 12 or 13 against the hundreds of women and children who were victims of familial violence serves only to frame "honour killing" as peculiar, when in reality it is part of a larger pattern of violence against women."

Maclean's
Maclean's outdid the rest of the media when it called the four murders “honoricide.” While the word “honoricide” literally means “killing of honour” but were getting at the idea of “killing for honour.” Writer Michael Friscolanti sat throughout the three-month trial and wrote a 22-page comprehensive article detailing the girls’ lives and even wrote about how one of the girls’ tombstones has the incorrect birthdate.

“In life, and in death, they had no voice. No one to save them. No one who even cares enough to fix Geeti's headstone. Nearly three years after she was buried, it is still engraved with Sahr's birth-date, not hers1."

Pascale Fournier, writing for The Ottawa Citizen, said that there was a greater tragedy in the failure of the state to intervene before the murders occurred, and that vulnerable groups from immigrant communities need the most protection but rarely get it.

Reaction
The widespread media coverage pressured the Muslim as well as the Afghan community in Canada to come out and speak about the murders.

Muslims in Canada
It has also given rise to the debate about the relationship of honour killing and Islam. Islamic organizations based in Canada condemned the murders. The Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, along with other Canadian Muslim organizations, have publicly denounced domestic violence and honour killing as "un-Islamic". Ali Falih Altaie, the family imam, said that the murders were "unforgivable", and cautioned against associating honour crimes with Islam, calling the actions incompatible with any religion.

In 2012 imams from across Canada and the U.S. issued a moral ruling officially condemning honour killings, domestic violence and misogyny as "un-Islamic." Thirty-four imams belonging to the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, including a handful of American members, signed the fatwa in an effort to counter misinterpretations of the Qur'an, they said.

Afghan Canadians
The Afghan Embassy in Ottawa in an interview with CTV News condemned the murders of four members of a Montreal family originally from Afghanistan. The embassy called the deaths of the three teenaged sisters and their father's first wife "a heinous crime against humanity." Moreover, they said this kind of crime is not part of Afghan or Islamic culture and "is not acceptable in any way."