Qandeel Baloch, being dubbed as the Kim Kardashian of Pakistan has been one of the most notorious and talked about female celebrities in Pakistan this year.
Since people decided to keep her in the news even after her untimely demise (a wish that she might have had herself), i decided to jump the bandwagon and write something about the bold and exotic (as far as Pakistan is concerned) woman.
Qandeel Baloch gained immense popularity after her video, which was dedicated to Shahid Afridi, went viral prior to the highly anticipated India Pakistan cricket match. I was deeply amused at the way she had tried to motivate the then Captain of the Pakistani team to win the match against India. Another similar video came out after Shahid Afridi and his team lost the match. Qandeel Baloch appeared to have been bawling her eyes out at the turn out of the event, claiming that Shahid Afridi had rendered her insulted. It did not just stop there. A Series of events followed and plenty of extremely entertaining videos were released by her after these. Last of these included selfies and videos with the Pakistani cleric Mufti Abdul Qavi, which resulted in the so called cleric's very justified expulsion from the Ruet-e-hilal committee. I believe that in her own twisted way she exposed a person who had been claiming to be extremely pious, imposing fatwas that suited his desires and criticizing others as he pleased. She did us all a great service. Since then Qandeel Baloch had been claiming to have been receiving death threats and was planning on shifting abroad.
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| Source: https://www.facebook.com/OfficialQandeelBaloch/ |
Qandeel Baloch, because of the controversial nature of her murder, is once again the most talked about person these days. Those who had been laughing at and condemning her earlier are now praising her for her boldness and feel deeply saddened by her death. Some extreme segments of the Pakistani society are of the opinion that she deserved it and others are asking for justice.
No one knows if we will ever find out as to what actually happened, justifying the murder in the name of honor by a person who himself might have been involved in who knows what is an insult to the word 'Honor' itself. Every year hundreds of women get brutally killed for this reason alone and the criminals freely roam about claiming to have satisfied the bad repute brought upon their family name by the woman in particular.
The police and the government are under obligation to deal with the case of Honor killing (Karo kari) as a regular murder crime. The accused is to be tried as per the rules that apply to any other murderer. In 2004 and 2010 legislative changes were made that included seven years of prison or in extreme cases, a death penalty for those who murdered in the name of honor. Another announcement made involved trying these cases in the Anti-terrorism court. The 1999 Diyat and Qisas ordinance, however, grants some leverage to the perpetuators of honor killings in this regard and the government despite numerous cases fails to eliminate the loophole and put a full stop to the heinous act.
This revolt on social and other forms of media against the injustice brought upon women and, to a small extent, the men will soon die down as is the tradition in Pakistan. People raise hue and cry for a day, discuss and argue over it (as if sitting in their drawing rooms and arguing on the matter will bring about the change that is so desperately needed in the country) and suddenly forget the matter altogether and move on.
The need of the hour is to educate people in the areas where Honor killings are repeatedly used as an excuse by people to satisfy some personal agenda. Women empowerment alone is no solution as can be seen in the case of Qandeel Baloch's murder. Strict laws that provide no escape to the accused must be imposed by the government. NGOs and schools in villages and other areas must educate people in this regard right from the beginning. Parents need to be taught so that they can educate their children regarding such issues and thus prevent this menace from polluting the minds of our next generation.
The police and the government are under obligation to deal with the case of Honor killing (Karo kari) as a regular murder crime. The accused is to be tried as per the rules that apply to any other murderer. In 2004 and 2010 legislative changes were made that included seven years of prison or in extreme cases, a death penalty for those who murdered in the name of honor. Another announcement made involved trying these cases in the Anti-terrorism court. The 1999 Diyat and Qisas ordinance, however, grants some leverage to the perpetuators of honor killings in this regard and the government despite numerous cases fails to eliminate the loophole and put a full stop to the heinous act.
This revolt on social and other forms of media against the injustice brought upon women and, to a small extent, the men will soon die down as is the tradition in Pakistan. People raise hue and cry for a day, discuss and argue over it (as if sitting in their drawing rooms and arguing on the matter will bring about the change that is so desperately needed in the country) and suddenly forget the matter altogether and move on.
The need of the hour is to educate people in the areas where Honor killings are repeatedly used as an excuse by people to satisfy some personal agenda. Women empowerment alone is no solution as can be seen in the case of Qandeel Baloch's murder. Strict laws that provide no escape to the accused must be imposed by the government. NGOs and schools in villages and other areas must educate people in this regard right from the beginning. Parents need to be taught so that they can educate their children regarding such issues and thus prevent this menace from polluting the minds of our next generation.
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