Mariam had left Afghanistan for Germany years ago. Far from assassinations and Taliban Islamist terrorism. In Germany she had the opportunity of a free life. But that’s exactly what cost the mother of two dearly.

The 34-year-old was killed, probably by her two brothers, because her lifestyle did not meet their moral standards.

The Berlin prosecutor’s office and the police are investigating the two men, 22 and 25 years old. They are suspected of killing their sister together in an “honor crime” in Berlin on July 13. The brothers have been in custody since last Wednesday.

Prosecutors allege the brothers carried their sister’s body in a suitcase by train to their older brother’s house in Bavaria on the day of the crime. Mariam was probably buried by both of them in Neuburg an der Donau. Her body was later found there. The autopsy confirmed the suspicion of murder and that she was the sister of the suspect.

Hate for the western way of life

Almost simultaneously with the judicial investigation, a debate began on the causes of the honor killings. The question is often “where does this hatred of the Western way of life come from?” A key aspect is the patriarchal way of looking at things, says Martin Lesedin, spokesman for the board of the International Society for Human Rights, in an interview with DW. “It is often associated with a particular religious attitude”. At the same time, these are mainly men who are not professionally successful and are afraid of an open society where women should also compete.

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Assassination with political dimensions

Mariam’s murder has now taken on political proportions in Germany. Politicians from almost all parties speak on the media and social networks. CDU President in Berlin Kai Wegner called for consequences. “We need an open debate on the failed integration of foreigners due to the values ​​being transferred to Germany from the countries of origin,” he says. Especially young women with an immigrant background are often victims of domestic violence.

The president of the SPD Berlin, Franziska Jiffy, wrote on Twitter: “I am deeply shocked by the brutal murder of the young woman and mother. Her life was taken away because she lived the way she wanted to live. It must be clear that it is nothing but a terrible crime of honor”.

Berlin Senator Elke Breitenbach with left-wing Die Linke party said “there are no honor killings” and that the characterization was an excuse for the perpetrator. The statement caused fierce reactions and Beatrix von Storch, a spokesman for the Alternative for Germany party, said the Berlin assassination “again shows the failure of the left-wing ideology of integration and denies reality at the expense of women in Germany”.