Like many, Banaz Mahmod longed to marry for love. Instead, aged just 16 she was forced into an arranged marriage, as was customary in her Iraqi-Kurdish community.
Banaz grew up in a strict, patriarchal environment, where women and girls were expected to be obedient, modest and compliant. A woman’s reputation belonged not to herself, but to her family and community. Seemingly innocuous acts like speaking to an unrelated man or divorcing an abusive spouse could trigger social ostracism, harassment, assault, rape or murder, all in the name of restoring so-called “honour.”
Aged 16, and forced into an arranged marriage, Banaz left her family home in Mitcham, south London, to live with her new husband 100 miles away in Coventry.
Ali Abass Homar was ten years older than Banaz and had recently arrived in the UK from her family’s hometown of Qaladiza in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Homar had little education and held deeply traditional values.
He believed he needed to keep his young, educated and Westernised bride “in her place.” Unemployed and out of school, Banaz was left vulnerable to abuse.
During her marriage, Banaz repeatedly reported to her family and the police that Homar was beating and raping her. After two years, she fled their home in Coventry, returned to live with her parents in London and met a man she loved. Banaz wanted a divorce and to remarry, but her family refused because the man she chose was from another tribe.
Believing Banaz had shamed and dishonoured her family and community, her father, uncle and cousins conspired to kill her.
Image of Banaz Mahmod supplied by Bekhal Mahmod
Banaz went to the police multiple times to report stalking, threats to her life and an attempted murder, even naming her future killers, but she was not taken seriously. One officer dismissed her as “manipulative and melodramatic” and sought to charge her with criminal damage after she smashed a neighbour’s window with her bare hands while fleeing her father, who had just tried to kill her.
Nearly two decades after her so-called “honour” killing in January 2006, the systemic failures that cost Banaz her life persist. It is estimated there are at least 12 ‘honour’-based killings in the UK every year. How many more lives must be lost before the system changes?
Despite repeated reforms, statutory services—including police, health, social care and education—continue to mishandle cases of “honour”-based abuse. A 2021 survey by the College of Policing involving 137 professionals from various statutory agencies found that although 72% had received training on “honour”-based abuse, forced marriage or female genital mutilation/cutting, 54% still felt unprepared to respond effectively to such cases. On a confidence scale of one to five, the average score was just 2.5 for “honour”-based abuse.
While the government announced new measures in August 2025 to tackle “honour”-based abuse, campaigners say these still fall short of what is needed. Notably absent is Banaz’s Law.
The proposed legislation, led by Bekhal Mahmod—the sister of Banaz—and supported by Southall Black Sisters (a London-based campaign group for Black and minority ethnic women), would ensure three things:
- that courts explicitly recognise “honour”-based abuse as an aggravating factor in sentencing,
- that they remove the possibility of “honour” being invoked as a defence in court, and
- that robust multi-agency statutory guidance is introduced (informed both by the lived experiences of victim-survivors and the expertise of “by and for” Black, minoritised and migrant women’s organisations).
Under Banaz’s Law it would be explicitly stated in open court that an offence was aggravated by “honour”-based abuse, and campaigners say this would send a clear signal of support to victim-survivors.
They claim this transparency not only encourages victim-survivors to come forward and report but also serves to deter perpetrators–including those acting in collusion, given that “honour”-based abuse often involves multiple offenders and potentially multiple victims–from perpetuating such harmful practices.
Banaz’s Law is essential to stop “honour”-based abuse from being ignored, dismissed or excused by statutory agencies under the guise of “cultural sensitivity” or institutional racism.
Bekhal and Southall Black Sisters have campaigned for Banaz’s Law for five years. It was initially tabled in January 2024 by MP Jess Phillips as part of the Criminal Justice Bill and then in June 2025 by MP Kirith Entwistle in the House of Commons as part of the Crime and Policing Bill. Most recently, in November 2025, it was tabled as an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill in the Lords by Baroness Doocey.
“The primary argument against enacting this law,” said Sanskriti Sanghi, communications, policy and strategic litigation manager at Southall Black Sisters,“relates to coercive and controlling behaviour being treated as a factor that increases the seriousness of an offence. Successive governments have argued that this sufficiently addresses ‘honour’-based abuse.
“However, based on our frontline experience, this is not the case.
“Coercive and controlling behaviour is often poorly understood or identified by agencies and additional cultural and religious factors in ‘honour’-based abuse create fears of being ‘culturally/religiously insensitive,’ reflecting a form of institutional racism within the system.”
Sanghi added: “A secondary argument from the current government is that the Law Commission plans to review the sentencing framework for murder and other homicide offences. We, however, believe urgent intervention is needed now to prevent Black, minoritised and migrant victim-survivors of ‘honour’-based abuse from continuing to be failed.”
The Commission’s final report is not expected until 2028.
While the UK has yet to enact Banaz’s Law, other countries are setting a precedent. Since July 2020, Swedish courts have treated an ‘honour’ motive as an aggravating factor, resulting in harsher penalties. In June 2022, Sweden went further by criminalising ‘honour’ oppression.
The UK government has also failed to adequately support migrant victim-survivors with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF), leaving many trapped in an impossible dilemma: endure abuse, face destitution or risk deportation.
Although £2.4 million was allocated in May 2025 to the Support for Migrant Victims scheme delivered nationally in partnership by Southall Black Sisters to support migrants with NRPF, this funding reaches only around 500 victim-survivors annually, compared with the estimated 32,000 who need help each year and is not a substitute for rights.
To empower migrants to report “honour”-based abuse and seek safety, the government must take a rights-based approach by extending the combined model of the Migrant Victims of Domestic Abuse Concession (MVDAC) and the Domestic Violence Indefinite Leave to Remain (DVILR) to all victim-survivors, regardless of immigration status.
“The government’s recent announcements on ‘honour’-based abuse reforms were not accompanied by meaningful consultation with Black, minoritised and migrant victim-survivors and the ‘by and for’ sector,” said Sanghi. “Input from a wide range of specialist, community-based ‘by and for’ organisations on measures—legislation, guidance, training and research—is crucial for these policies to reflect reality and work for victim-survivors.”
She added that the government is only now beginning to undertake specific work on ‘honour’-based abuse, while previously its focus was on forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
Bekhal said: “During welfare checks, there have been cases where police speak to victims while their abusers—often family or community members—are present. How can a victim speak freely in such circumstances?
Read More: The Maid of Honour Violence
“Victims should be spoken to privately, in a safe environment where they cannot be overheard, and provided with an independent interpreter if necessary.”
She continued: “Once abusers realise a victim has reported them, they often retaliate, as in Banaz’s case.”
Banaz reported her abusers five times and was scheduled to return to the police in January 2006, but she never arrived. Her body was later found in a suitcase buried in the back garden of a house belonging to her cousin.
“These failures highlight the urgent need for consultation with victim-survivors and the ‘by and for’ sector,” said Bekhal.
Image of Banaz Mahmod supplied by Bekhal Mahmod
Sustainable, ring-fenced funding for “by and for” Black, minoritised and migrant women’s services is also urgently needed. In 2024, the government announced that funding for domestic abuse and sexual violence services in 2025–26 would remain the same as the previous year. With costs rising due to inflation, this is effectively a cut.
Additionally, the Ministry of Justice implemented a 4.2% cut to the core funding for Police and Crime Commissioners, further limiting resources available for local victim services.
While the government’s 2025 measures include plans to launch community awareness campaigns encouraging victims to come forward, many support services are already overstretched and will struggle to meet increased demand without sustainable funding.
Banaz’s death is a stark reminder of the consequences when the system fails.
“Banaz was a bright, courageous woman with dreams and potential, but these were stolen from her,” Bekhal said. “No one else should have to endure the fear, violence and ultimate loss that she faced.”
All illustrations Lacuna artist Jiraporn Puengprayotekij.
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