Gul knew she was committing the ultimate crime according to strict Islamic customs — running away from her husband with another man — but she also knew she didn’t want to continue living the life she had since her marriage.

“I’d tried to kill myself with poison several times but it didn’t work. I hated my life and I had to escape. When I ran away I knew it would be dangerous. I knew my husband and family would be looking for me but I never thought this would happen. I thought my future would be bright,” she says.

Days later her older brother tracked them down. Armed with an ax, he hacked to death Gul Meena’s friend, and then struck his own sister 15 times — cutting open her face, head and parts of her body.

Gul Meena shows me these scars — taking off her headscarf, her finger gently running up and down the raised, freshly healed skin. She touches her head where the blade hit her and then shows me the deep cuts that were made to the back of her neck and her arms.