Pakistan woman burned to death for refusing marriage proposal

A Pakistani woman set on fire for refusing a marriage proposal from a man twice her age has died.

Maria Sadaqat, 19, a teacher, was attacked by a group of men Sunday at her home near the town of Murree, according to media reports. She died Wednesday in an Islamabad hospital.

“She was badly tortured and then burned alive. We brought her to hospital in Islamabad but she succumbed to her wounds today,” Abdul Basit, Sadaqat’s uncle, told AFP at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences.

Hospital spokesperson Ayesha Ihsani said the woman had suffered burns over 85% of her body, according to The Express Tribune. “The poor woman was becoming better but then could not survive because most parts of her body had serious burn injuries,” Ihsani said.

Sadaqat's aunt told the BBC the incident started when the school's owner asked for her niece to marry his son.

Such attacks are not uncommon in Pakistan. Nearly 1,100 women were killed last year by relatives who thought they had dishonored their families, the Human Rights Commission found, according to the BBC.