There was yet another murder that took place in Pakistan in the name of honor recently. It wasn’t a girl who chose to marry the person of her own choice, or a girl who did not want to marry the man her parents chose, or the girl who was caught talking to a boy on her cellphone.
This time, it was the murder of popular social media diva Qandeel Baloch. Like in most cases, her own family member (her brother this time) strangled her to death while she was sleeping. The coward chose a time when she would be least likely to fight back.
Some are saying that it was not an honor killing but rather a dispute about money. I guess they should have a conversation with her killer brother Waseem who had this to say:
“She was bringing disrepute to our family’s honor and I could not tolerate it any further. I killed her around 11.30pm on Friday night when everyone else had gone to bed.”
Thus honor killing.
However, this piece is not about Qandeel Baloch but rather the society she lived in; the people who raised her up only to push her down. The people who buzzed around her like sticky flies only to fling mud. The people who preached religion to her and told her she should be killed in the same breath.
Here are some gems that went around:
'I am not condoning what happened to her, I mean murder is wrong but she was asking for it.'
(Like how? Did she politely request people to kill her? How does one ask for it?)
'She paid the price.'
(Price of? Perverts ogling her 24/7?)
'She deserved it.'
(So you are saying murder is a perfectly acceptable thing then?)
'Oh no, now she was killed, people will start thinking of her as a heroine and all our girls will like nudity.'
(You certainly have your priorities in order! There is more to women then just their clothes, you know.)
'Although she was a disgrace… she should not have been killed.'
(I have no idea whether you are on her side or not…. Are you saying she should have been killed but no. Yes? No? Maybe?)
'This is what happens to girls who to go out of their homes.'
(Uhm, she was killed at home….by her own brother!)
Personally, I feel everyone in the society is to blame for her death, not just the murderer.
Uhm..that fell flat on its face. The ‘society’ is actually owning up to her murder or rather the condoning lady here.Maybe for you Mr. Murderer Wannabe, but her family could have ignored her, or even disowned her. It’s not like she even used their name. However, let’s hope the ‘younger’ people don’t agree with your sickening way of thinking.
