Pakistani woman 'gang raped on orders of village council' after marrying man of her choice
Police reportedly arrest three suspects, including two brothers
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A woman in Pakistan has been gang raped on the orders of a village council after she married a man of her own choice, according to local media.
The alleged assault occurred in Tandlianwala district near Faisalabad, less than 100 miles from Pakistan’s border with India, The Express Tribune reported.
Police have reportedly arrested three suspects, including two brothers, over the rape of the 19-year-old.
The teenager said in a press conference her father had brought her back home after village council members promised the family could give her away in a traditional ceremony, according to Pakistani news channel Geo News.
But the council allegedly kept her captive and allowed three men to rape her. The news channel reported she later escaped captivity.
DNA testing reportedly confirmed she was gang raped. Her family have appealed to authorities to hold the council members responsible.
The arrests come a month after 10 people were detained for killing a newly-wed couple who entered a free-will marriage in the southern city of Karachi.
Police said Abdul Hadi, 24, and Hasina Bibi, 19, were killed by relatives for marrying without permission from their elders.
Reprisals against women and girls in Pakistan over perceptions of dishonour are common.
The independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan had said there are hundreds of so-called "honour killings" in the country each year. It recorded 837 killings, all of women and girls, in 2014, when it last published figures.
The majority were shot, strangled or injured with an "edge tool", a description which includes knives and axes.
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