Rebellious Canadian Muslim girl slain

BRAMPTON, Ontario, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- A Toronto-area man has been charged with strangling his 16-year-old daughter for refusing to wear traditional Muslim headwear.

A man called Peel Regional Police, west of Toronto, Monday morning and said he had killed his daughter. Authorities arrived at the family home in Mississauga and found Aqsa Parvez unconscious, the Toronto Sun reported.

The girl died later at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children and an autopsy indicated she had been strangled, provincial court heard Wednesday.

The girl reportedly disagreed with her father's wishes that she wear traditional Muslim clothing. Friends told Canadian media that while the girl would leave her home wearing a headscarf, she would remove it when away from the house.

Her father, Muhammad Parvez, is charged with second-degree murder in the girl's death and he was remanded to appear Jan. 29 to face the charge. He was also ordered not to have any contact with his 26-year-old son, whom police charged with obstructing their investigation, the newspaper said.

Details of that charge weren't released and the son was to make his first court appearance Friday.

A police spokesman said Crown prosecutors have the option of upgrading the charge to first-degree murder before the father's next court appearance.