Let them in this is what you get

An Afghan migrant is standing trial in France this week accused of attempted murder against his wife because she had reportedly wanted “to be European” and embrace liberal values.

The 31-year-old defendant, Naceer, is facing charges of attempted murder and rape after stabbing his 28-year-old wife, Fakhira, eight times in May at their home in Noisy-le-Sec, a commune in the eastern Parisian suburbs.

The Seine-Saint-Denis Assize Court heard how Naceer and Fakhira fled the Taliban in 2022 and sought asylum in France.

Fakhira, who had been forced to leave school and marry at the age of 17 after her father was killed in a suicide bombing, had wanted to reject the patriarchal norms of her homeland by embracing freedoms long denied to her and other women — walking with her hair uncovered, wearing modern clothing, and taking French lessons.

Her husband, however, grew resentful and controlling, insisting she conform to traditional expectations. “She wants to be European. I don’t,” he reportedly told her uncle.

“He asked her to dress a certain way and wanted her to stay at home,” the court heard during her uncle’s testimony.

Tensions escalated, with Fakhria confiding about instances of domestic violence and coercion, as well as Naceer’s demands for “illegitimate sexual relations” such as anal sex, though no formal complaints were made.

The attack for which he is standing trial occurred on May 7, 2022, leaving Fakhria gravely injured. According to Le Parisien, she had met with her cousin when she was suddenly confronted by Naceer, stabbed multiple times, and left for dead. Her uncle called the emergency services and stayed with her as she fought for her life. He told the court, “Her body was bloody everywhere.”

He claimed that Naceer’s actions were celebrated by some members of the Afghan diaspora who viewed the violence as an act of honor and called on him to “finish the job.”

“He was considered a hero,” the uncle testified, adding that Naceer had later spread rumors that Fakhira had been unfaithful in an attempt to justify the attack among the Afghan community.

The trial is ongoing with court proceedings expected to conclude on Friday.