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UK charity Karma Nirvana escapes ban over honour killing ad

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By Natalie Mortimer, N/A

October 13, 2015 | 2 min read

UK charity Karma Nirvana has escaped advertising ban after readers complained that an image it used of a woman being suffocated was 'distressing'.

The charity, which supports victims and survivors of forced marriage and honour-based abuse, ran the press ad in memory of Shafilea Ahmed, a 17-year-old British girl who was suffocated by her parents with a plastic bag in an honour-based killing.

Six viewers complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

In response Karma Nirvana said the motivation behind the ad was to highlight a growing area of concern in the UK and to honour the memory of women murdered by their families "in the name of honour". The charity said the explanatory text gave context to the image and clearly communicated their aim.

Karma Nirvana added that it hadn't taken the decision to run the advert lightly and prepared it with two close friends of Ahmed and a police officer involved in investigating the crime.

In its ruling the ASA acknowledged that a number of readers would find the idea of referring to the murder of a young woman to be "shocking and upsetting" but said that the text in the ad made clear the intention and explained that the charity wished to raise awareness of honour based violence and ensure that the victims of such abuse were remembered.

No further action is necessary.

Earlier this year Karma Nirvana teamed with Cosmopolitan for a limited-edition cover wrap featuring the same image.

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