The Kingston ON trial of a Muslim man accused (with his second wife and son) of killing his first wife and three daughters has heard day after day of testimony from the victims' family and friends to the effect that the father was a controlling, domineering tyrant more concerned with the family's honour than the happiness and wellbeing of "his" women.
Today, in a surprise move, Mohammad Shafia took the stand as the first witness for the defence. He painted rather a different picture of himself. He was, he said, a loving and caring father who never abused his family, but rather doted on them and gave them all they could need, including a parent’s good advice.
His teen daughters "never had fear," he told the jury. "If they did anything wrong they would hide it because they were ashamed. But they had no fear." The Afghan-Canadian businessman said that although he was a devout Muslim, his outlook was "liberal". That's why he fled his Taliban-controlled homeland in 1992, together with his two (2) wives. And the only lie he told police, he testified, was in reference to his first wife, who he described to Canadian authorities as a cousin.
The last witness for the Crown told the court earlier this week that immigrants to countries whose culture differs greatly from their own often become more fanatic about preserving their native culture than those who stay at home. Shafia's daughters wanted to live their lives according to Canadian norms, and that put them at odds with their father, who wanted to raise good and chaste Muslim girls.
Much of Shafia's daughters' behaviour in Canada did upset him, he conceded. He was none to pleased when he found condoms in the family home, but that was after the daughters were... errr... after they mysteriously died.
Nor did he like seeing pictures of his 17-year-old daughter Sahar wearing a bikini or even less modest underwear. And when his eldest daughter, Zainab, 19, married a 24-year-old Pakistani, that was really the straw that broke the Kamal's back.
"My children did a lot of cruelty to me," Shafia told his lawyer. Nonetheless, he insisted, he bore no animus to any of the four women before their... errr... accidental deaths. Except for Zainab, maybe.
Nor was he violent toward his children or his first wife, Shafia said. Well, hardly ever. Sure, he hit one or two of his daughters after they stayed out late, but, he said as he looked sideways at the jury, he didn't make a habit of it.
The trial continues tomorrow.
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