Pakistanis On Qandeel Baloch

Pakistanis express sorrow and anger after social media star is killed by her brother, but some condemn her lifestyle.  Qandeel Baloch, by her own brother has angered millions of Pakistanis, while others have celebrated her death on account of her rebellious, provocative, and what some considered unIslamic statements in the largely conservative nation. The 26-year-old was found dead in her family home, having been strangled by her brother, Waseem, who later said he had "no regrets" and killed his famous sister to preserve the family's "honour". 

As in life, Baloch has polarised the nation in her death. Many condemned the killing outright, others said she had it coming, and some said while she should not have been killed, they could understand the brother's motive.

The media has been blamed for sensationalising the details of her personal life, thus increasing the "shame" factor upon her family, as many called for an anti-honour killing bill to be implemented. We asked some Pakistanis to share their views:

Mosharraf Zaidi, 40, Islamabad-based analyst

It's a very sad situation, and an opportunity for men not only in Pakistan, but men everywhere to be introspective about life, culture, humanity, modernity, human agency. People who blame the media don't understand the media, nor its commercial landscape. A race to the bottom in popular culture will intensify.

Men everywhere need to think about what century they are living in ... If you don't like what's on TV, turn it off. You don't like what's on the channel ... flip it. You don't like a video? Stop watching it. Don't Google the person you don't like even more. Look away from what titillates and enrages. Stop looking directly at it.

Mehreen Shamsi, Australia-based finance worker, originally from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The term honour killing is extremely incomplete and yet extremely explicit in the context that it is used in, if that's possible. It's very much like the term "act of terror". Both have been used for a very specific part of the world, for its specific cultures, religions, traditions and more so for extremist factions of illiterate groups, as I would call them, as they carry out these activities.

Both terms are [about] upholding values, guarding the social fabric, and honouring religious duty. Honour killing, therefore, assumes that everything wrong in society will be fixed by taking a life - mostly taking the life of a woman. It may be in that most cases of violence against women are based on the term honour. When the result is the death of a woman, the man feels he has resolved all problems.

 

SOURCE : ALJAZEERA

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