There are few feelings that can compare with the passionate intensity of young love. Rand Abdel-Qader, at 17 years old, experienced a love as profound as her strong young heart could manage, a love strong enough to pass the boundaries of religion, race and culture. Rand’s generosity of spirit and her kindness led her into volunteer work, helping the needy of Basra, in Southern Iraq, where she met and worked alongside Paul, a 22 year old British soldier. Despite the differences between them, their relationship blossomed into a deep attachment. Rand was infatuated with Paul, who with his honey coloured eyes, education and sensitivity, was very different from all the other men she had known in her life. Rand dared to dream of a life beyond the life allotted to Iraqi women; she dared to dream of a love powerful enough to transcend the arbitrary boundaries of race and religion; she dared to believe she had rights and choices.

Rand’s dream ended in a nightmare: slaughtered by her father and his brothers, who spat on her corpse and denied her the dignity of a proper burial. For them, Rand was nothing but a possession of men, to be disposed of according to their will. For them, the Rand’s capacity for love threatened family ‘honour’, where men are judged by their ability to oppress and control women, and where woman’s autonomy, particularly sexual autonomy, is considered a threat to the patriarchal order.