A talented biomedical science student was murdered by her own family in 2022 after refusing an arranged marriage to her cousin in Pakistan, according to reports.
Somaiya Begum, a student at Leeds Beckett University, was found dead on a summer day in 2022. She had been living with her uncle and grandmother in Bradford after her parents attempted to force her into a marriage with her older cousin four years prior, when she was 16. Her refusal to marry had caused a significant rift within the family.
Her uncle, Dawood Khan, had provided her with a place to stay while she continued her education. Despite her past ordeal, Begum was described as having a bright future ahead of her. The circumstances of her death were characterized as particularly horrific and carried out by her own family.