Qandeel Baloch, Pakistani social media star, and 'honor killings'
OP: I wanted to post an article about Qandeel Baloch herself, since readers may not be familiar with her.
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Qandeel Baloch: How her murder reflects a divided country
Ms Baloch will be remembered for her brief rise to fame through the unregulated platform of social media.
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In one of her last posts on Facebook before her murder, Qandeel Baloch wrote: "No matter how many times I will be pushed down, I am a fighter, I will bounce back…
"Qandeel Baloch is an inspiration to those ladies who are treated badly and dominated by society. I will keep on achieving and I know you will keep on hating. Damn, but who cares."
It was for such provocative views that Ms Baloch was loved, derided and mocked.
She instigated a debate in Pakistan on whether choosing to defy family and societal norms symbolised women's empowerment or was cheap narcissism.
In life Ms Baloch was a divisive figure for Pakistanis.
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In death, too, what police suspect is an honour killing carried out by her brother reflects a deeply divided country.
On social media, some believe her brother was justified in killing her.
"A girl who decides to publish her naked pics for sake of publicity.... what her brother is sppose (sic) to do?" asked one Islamabad-based Twitter user.
It was down to an MP, Nafisa Shah, to sum up the argument for the other side, writing: "A social media star who exposed social hypocrisy is murdered by a family vigilante created by a skewed law. Condemnable."
Ms Baloch genuinely feared for her life, even before she wrote an unheeded letter to the interior ministry calling for protection.
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But others are blaming the media too, for publicising her private and personal information such as her passport and national identity card.
When a former husband revealed she also had a child after a supposed love marriage, she claimed that it was forced on her at the age of 17, and that he used to beat her.
Ms Baloch genuinely feared for her life, even before she wrote an unheeded letter to the interior ministry calling for protection.
In an earlier interview with BBC Urdu she said "I am facing threats. But I believe that death is preordained - when you are meant to die, you will die."
In life as well as death, Qandeel Baloch's story from her childhood in a small conservative town, to a video of her "twerking" and ultimately to her murder is perhaps all too Pakistani in its contradictions and in its violence.
SOURCE 1.
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OP: My problem with the end of the article above, and a point I would like to make in this post, is that this is not a purely ‘foreign’ phenomenon (and that last paragraph has me really side-eyeing the BBC for publishing it…). I was in error here (please see the comments below, because I am an idiot. :)
This has often been framed as an external cultural phenomenon by the western media, IMHO, in what seems to me like rather blatant racism on the part of said media (i.e. look at how ‘barbaric’ the ‘primitives’ are seems to be a prevailing commentary with regards to this issue, although I’ll grant you that I’ve never seen these exact words/terms used).
However, I DEFINITELY don't want to minimize the horror of 'honor killings'.
The point I’m trying to make is that the issue of so-called ‘honor killings’ is part of the GLOBAL issue and problem that is violence against women and femicide. This includes such things as 'domestic violence', which is a HUGE problem in western countries. What I mean by this is that, while violence against women manifests in ways that are very much a product of culture, history, and so on, the issue of femicide is also a global one, in that every country of the world has this problem.
The World Health Organization or WHO defines femicide as follows: “Femicide is generally understood to involve intentional murder of women because they are women, but broader definitions include any killings of women or girls.”
Additional links on these issues:
On 'honor killings' (OP would vote to call it something else, honestly, I really hate that term):
-'Honor Killings' Are A Global Problem - And Often Invisible. Among other things, this article mentions that, "An estimated 5,000 honor killings are committed every year, mostly in Muslim, Hindu and Sikh communities, according to a 2000 report from the UNFPA - the most recent compilation of data."
(OP: So an important point regarding this issue is that it is NOT a Muslim or Islamic phenomenon.)
-Pakistan honour killings on the rise, report reveals
-'Honor killings' are also all too common in India
-HBVA (Honor Based Violence Awareness Network)
-A famous case in Canada was the Shafia case, in which four women/girls were killed by members of their family.
OP: The response to the Shafia case in Canada was really racist and gross, IMO, and involved demonizing ethnic minorities. I think the following quote said it really well. "Public debate and media coverage of the Shafia family murder trial has obscured and misrepresented patriarchal violence against women in Canada. Following the guilty verdict last month, lead Crown prosecutor Gerard Laarhuis mistakenly proclaimed that, “[t]his verdict sends a very clear message about our Canadian values and the core principles in a free and democratic society that all Canadians enjoy and even visitors to Canada enjoy.” The verdict and public discourse surrounding this horrific case of family abuse and murder misrepresents both the historical and contemporary status of women in Canada and the prevalence of spousal violence against women. The suggestion that the verdict was a “wake-up call” and an “École Polytechnique” moment for Canadian Muslims, as Sheema Khan wrote in the Globe and Mail last month, mistakenly implies that violence against women and misogyny are not endemic throughout all of Canadian society." (The quote is from the following website.)
-Here is another link (i.e. to the Canadian government's website) which provides some historical context on 'honor killings'.
-Preliminary Examination of so-called "Honour Killings" in Canada.
-An Exploratory Study of Honor Crimes in the United States. (OP: The link is to the abstract/summary of an article, unfortunately the full text is not free. The reference however is: Hayes BE, Freilich JD, Chermak SM. Journal of Family Violence 2016; 31(3):303-14.)
On femicide:
-Domestic violence and honor killings.
-WHO report on femicide.
-In Central America, women killed ‘with impunity’ just because they’re women. 'Femicide' on the rise in Central America.
-From the U.N.: Impunity for domestic violence, ‘honour killings’ cannot continue - UN official (OP: A bit old, but still interesting.)
-The United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention (UNODC) on interpersonal homicide. (OP: Among other things, the figure on the gender disparity in intimate partner/family-related homicide rate in several regions of the world is really telling -see figure 2.2.4.)
-Someone is Finally Starting to Count ‘Femicides’.
------------------
Qandeel Baloch: How her murder reflects a divided country
Ms Baloch will be remembered for her brief rise to fame through the unregulated platform of social media.
---------------
In one of her last posts on Facebook before her murder, Qandeel Baloch wrote: "No matter how many times I will be pushed down, I am a fighter, I will bounce back…
"Qandeel Baloch is an inspiration to those ladies who are treated badly and dominated by society. I will keep on achieving and I know you will keep on hating. Damn, but who cares."
It was for such provocative views that Ms Baloch was loved, derided and mocked.
She instigated a debate in Pakistan on whether choosing to defy family and societal norms symbolised women's empowerment or was cheap narcissism.
In life Ms Baloch was a divisive figure for Pakistanis.
--------------
In death, too, what police suspect is an honour killing carried out by her brother reflects a deeply divided country.
On social media, some believe her brother was justified in killing her.
"A girl who decides to publish her naked pics for sake of publicity.... what her brother is sppose (sic) to do?" asked one Islamabad-based Twitter user.
It was down to an MP, Nafisa Shah, to sum up the argument for the other side, writing: "A social media star who exposed social hypocrisy is murdered by a family vigilante created by a skewed law. Condemnable."
Ms Baloch genuinely feared for her life, even before she wrote an unheeded letter to the interior ministry calling for protection.
----------------
But others are blaming the media too, for publicising her private and personal information such as her passport and national identity card.
When a former husband revealed she also had a child after a supposed love marriage, she claimed that it was forced on her at the age of 17, and that he used to beat her.
Ms Baloch genuinely feared for her life, even before she wrote an unheeded letter to the interior ministry calling for protection.
In an earlier interview with BBC Urdu she said "I am facing threats. But I believe that death is preordained - when you are meant to die, you will die."
In life as well as death, Qandeel Baloch's story from her childhood in a small conservative town, to a video of her "twerking" and ultimately to her murder is perhaps all too Pakistani in its contradictions and in its violence.
SOURCE 1.
-----------------------------------
OP: My problem with the end of the article above, and a point I would like to make in this post, is that this is not a purely ‘foreign’ phenomenon (and that last paragraph has me really side-eyeing the BBC for publishing it…). I was in error here (please see the comments below, because I am an idiot. :)
This has often been framed as an external cultural phenomenon by the western media, IMHO, in what seems to me like rather blatant racism on the part of said media (i.e. look at how ‘barbaric’ the ‘primitives’ are seems to be a prevailing commentary with regards to this issue, although I’ll grant you that I’ve never seen these exact words/terms used).
However, I DEFINITELY don't want to minimize the horror of 'honor killings'.
The point I’m trying to make is that the issue of so-called ‘honor killings’ is part of the GLOBAL issue and problem that is violence against women and femicide. This includes such things as 'domestic violence', which is a HUGE problem in western countries. What I mean by this is that, while violence against women manifests in ways that are very much a product of culture, history, and so on, the issue of femicide is also a global one, in that every country of the world has this problem.
The World Health Organization or WHO defines femicide as follows: “Femicide is generally understood to involve intentional murder of women because they are women, but broader definitions include any killings of women or girls.”
Additional links on these issues:
On 'honor killings' (OP would vote to call it something else, honestly, I really hate that term):
-'Honor Killings' Are A Global Problem - And Often Invisible. Among other things, this article mentions that, "An estimated 5,000 honor killings are committed every year, mostly in Muslim, Hindu and Sikh communities, according to a 2000 report from the UNFPA - the most recent compilation of data."
(OP: So an important point regarding this issue is that it is NOT a Muslim or Islamic phenomenon.)
-Pakistan honour killings on the rise, report reveals
-'Honor killings' are also all too common in India
-HBVA (Honor Based Violence Awareness Network)
-A famous case in Canada was the Shafia case, in which four women/girls were killed by members of their family.
OP: The response to the Shafia case in Canada was really racist and gross, IMO, and involved demonizing ethnic minorities. I think the following quote said it really well. "Public debate and media coverage of the Shafia family murder trial has obscured and misrepresented patriarchal violence against women in Canada. Following the guilty verdict last month, lead Crown prosecutor Gerard Laarhuis mistakenly proclaimed that, “[t]his verdict sends a very clear message about our Canadian values and the core principles in a free and democratic society that all Canadians enjoy and even visitors to Canada enjoy.” The verdict and public discourse surrounding this horrific case of family abuse and murder misrepresents both the historical and contemporary status of women in Canada and the prevalence of spousal violence against women. The suggestion that the verdict was a “wake-up call” and an “École Polytechnique” moment for Canadian Muslims, as Sheema Khan wrote in the Globe and Mail last month, mistakenly implies that violence against women and misogyny are not endemic throughout all of Canadian society." (The quote is from the following website.)
-Here is another link (i.e. to the Canadian government's website) which provides some historical context on 'honor killings'.
-Preliminary Examination of so-called "Honour Killings" in Canada.
-An Exploratory Study of Honor Crimes in the United States. (OP: The link is to the abstract/summary of an article, unfortunately the full text is not free. The reference however is: Hayes BE, Freilich JD, Chermak SM. Journal of Family Violence 2016; 31(3):303-14.)
On femicide:
-Domestic violence and honor killings.
-WHO report on femicide.
-In Central America, women killed ‘with impunity’ just because they’re women. 'Femicide' on the rise in Central America.
-From the U.N.: Impunity for domestic violence, ‘honour killings’ cannot continue - UN official (OP: A bit old, but still interesting.)
-The United Nations Drug Control Programme and the Centre for International Crime Prevention (UNODC) on interpersonal homicide. (OP: Among other things, the figure on the gender disparity in intimate partner/family-related homicide rate in several regions of the world is really telling -see figure 2.2.4.)
-Someone is Finally Starting to Count ‘Femicides’.