Toronto Life cover story on "honour killing" comes in for criticism

[This post has been updated*]The cover story in the December issue of Toronto Life about the so-called "honour killing" of Aqsa Parvez, has provoked a furious reaction from a group of people who denounce it as a misrepresentation. Using a Facebook page, they have called on people who agree with them to flood editor Sarah Fulford, her voicemail and her inbox with denunciations of the story.

A press conference is scheduled for Tuesday morning in Toronto, featuring speakers from the Muslim Young Women, Metropolitan Action Committee on Violence against Women and Children, Urban Alliance on Race Relations.(The Facebook page and the organization seems to be lead by the Urban Alliance.)

While featuring Aqsa’s story is recognition of a young woman’s life cut tragically short, the Toronto Life article perpetuates common stereotypes about Muslim and immigrant communities, diverting attention from the urgent issue of violence against women across Canada.

Having read the story by Mary Rogan, my own view is that most of it is a fairly straightforward profile of a tragic event in which Parvez is said to have been murdered by her father and brother for, among other things, going against traditional ways and refusing to wear a hijab.

However the article does trespass against a standard journalistic rule: don't raise questions you don't answer. And it is easy to see how this particular paragraph, early in the story, provoked the reaction that it did:

Canada prides itself on its multiculturalism and, to varying degrees of success, condemns institutionalized patriarchy. But there is growing concern that recent waves of Muslim immigrants aren't integrating or embracing our liberal values. Aqsa's death -- coming in the wake of debates about the acceptability of sharia law, disputes over young girls wearing hijabs at soccer games, and the arrest of the Toronto 18 -- stoked fears about religious zealotry in our midst. Is it possible that Toronto has become too tolerant of cultural differences?

Nowhere is this question even addressed, let alone explored; the rest of the article is a workmanlike job of reporting, reiterating much of what has been published elsewhere at the time of the her death by strangulation last December, augmented by interviews with Aqsa's two, closest friends who don't shine any particular light on the events as far as I can see.

[UPDATE: In a case of interesting timing, Sarah Fulford is speaking Tuesday night in Toronto in a free lecture hosted by the Ryerson School of Journalism. Here's the promotional copy for the event, which takes place at 6 pm in ENG103, 245 Church Street.

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SARAH FULFORD
Editor-in-Chief, Toronto Life Magazine

IN DEFENSE OF MAGAZINES:
As a lauded journalist, Why They Matter In The Digital Age

In this presentation, Sarah Fulford will talk about why magazines in 2008 are surviving--and even flourishing--while newspapers are dying. More specifically, she will talk about her experience at the helm of Toronto Life, the business of working with writers, developing ideas and the challenge of breathing new life into an established brand. Sarah Fulford is the 34 year old editor-in-chief of Toronto Life magazine - and also the first female editor in the magazine' s 40 year history. Toronto Life is one of North America's top city magazines with 741,000 readers each month.]