The murder of Qandeel Baloch - What is wrong with Pakistan?
- In Current Affairs
- 12:47 PM, Jul 20, 2016
- Ranabir Bhattacharyya
Until a few days back, Qandeel Baloch was seen as the 'Kim Kardashian' of Pakistan, a popular face both loved and hated in Pakistan in equal proportions. Suddenly, the woman, who was unarguably the most searched woman in our neighbouring country, was killed. It was not a fundamentalist organization, but her own brother Waseem Baloch killed her giving the reason that "She was bringing dishonor to our family". A person with more than 750,000 followers in Facebook, having majority of them from Pakistan, where many conservatives rule the roost 'malpractices', Qandeel Baloch was indeed the best friend of controversy and championed self-made feminism.
She represented a country where truth has lost its right in the veils of hijab and male chauvinism. Unlike other such incidents elsewhere, it would be a gross injustice to tag this murder as 'only' honour-killing. Her death is a grave reminder to the Pakistani reality or the reality of a conservative Islamist society of extreme patriarchy and conscious apathy to free thinking.
In Pakistan, where girls are taught to be neither heard nor to be seen, Qandeel Baloch was an exception. She rose to fame in 2013 while auditioning for Pakistan Idol, a reality show and she became an instant internet celebrity. Qandeel Baloch took Facebook with a storm with her dramatic videos and her social media posts were followed up with loads of comments. It would be a gross mistake to tag her as a 'sex siren' amidst all hyped marriage proposals to cricketers and other celebrities. Ironically, a week before she was eventually killed by her brother, Qandeel Baloch released 'Ban', a music video which literally mocked the regulations imposed on women in Pakistan.
In other words, she had her methods but she tried to give it to the mullah regime of Pakistan. One can certainly remember how Qandeel was candid enough to reveal the fact that she was forcibly married off at 17 and the torture she had to face at her in laws house. Her husband even threatened to burn her face with acid. The saddest aspect is, when she described that she had no other option but to take refuge at a welfare centre after losing custody claims of her child, most Pakistanis ended up saying her domestic violence case was yet another 'drama' to garner internet interest. From body shaming to death threats, Qandeel Baloch faced online humiliation from her countrymen day in and day out.
The way Qandeel's brother Waseem Baloch remarked," “Girls are born only to stay at home and to bring honour to the family by following family traditions but Qandeel had never done that. Now everybody will remember me with honour” has highlighted what's wrong with Pakistan. Not only is it wrong with Pakistan but many conservative Islamist societies as well. The vast stretch of South Eastern and Middle East Asia, where Islam has championed patriarchy, Qandeel Baloch and her pragmatic approach to life will constantly haunt all the mullahs and Ulemas about the need of reformation in Islamic approach to life.
The Pakistani society has reached at its nadir with huge gender gap, and most unfortunately there have been serious attempts from various quarters of Pakistani media to shame her posthumously by circulating a porn clip featuring Qandeel Baloch.
The murder of Qandeel Baloch is also a reminder to its neighbouring country India where every now and then 'bans' crop up to demoralize women or 'Nirbhaya' incidents repeat time to time. There are various aspects in the social ladder that need to be addressed. The whole incident also is a grim reminder of crimes against women. No doubt, the words of Qandeel Baloch's father will definitely echo in the blind alleys of many conservative Islamist societies:" "She supported all of us, including my son who killed her". Finally one can say, there may not be another Fauzia Azeem aka Qandeel Baloch, but the world knows what happens to women in Pakistan who want to live their lives in their own terms. Alas! Qandeel Baloch will never be able to fulfill her promise of 'bouncing back' in life!
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