Pakistani police exhumed the body of an Italian woman of Pakistani descent on Wednesday to investigate suspicion that her family killed her in the name of ‘honour’ after she refused to marry a man of their choosing. Sana Cheema, 25, who lived in Brescia, Italy, was visiting relatives in Pakistan this month when her family says she died after suffering from “chronic ulcer and hypotension”, said police official Asad Gujjar.
Social media activists in Pakistan highlighted the case this week, citing Italian media reports that Ms. Cheema might have been killed by her family after she refused to marry the man they wanted her to.
No injury marks
“Police have taken samples from her stomach and sent them for forensic examination,” Mr. Gujjar said. He said there were no apparent injury marks on her body.
Ms. Cheema’s father and some relatives had been summoned for police questioning, he said, adding that no arrest had been made.
Hundreds of women and girls are killed each year in Pakistan at the hands of family members over perceived damage to honour.
