The ‘honour killing’ of social media activist Qandeel Boloch has justifiably sparked an outrage in Pakistan. The manner in which she was done to death by her brother, who showed no sense of remorse when he was arrested, shouldn’t come as a shock. Honour killings are routine in Pakistan. The country’s human rights commission stated that over 2,000 women and children were killed in the name of ‘honour’ in 2014 and 2015, but their deaths seldom provoke a response from the police or government. Qandeel had a Facebook page where she posted material challenging existing social norms. She posted pictures of herself in revealing clothes and last month uploaded selfies with a leading cleric, who was a member of the ‘moon-sighting’ committee. She openly talked about the torture she was subjected to by her former husband. She had over 800,000 followers on her Facebook page, a testament to the repression that Pakistani women face. Honour killings are a serious social problem, almost an epidemic. They are a symptom of a social order that assigns roles to each member of the family. In this collectivist system any member who puts his or her individuality above the family becomes a target, and other family members are encouraged to take care of the problem. Because Pakistan follows the patriarchal system where men dominate the social order, the victims are usually women or children. One hopes Qandeel’s quest for a social order that recognises women as integral and equal players does not die with her demise.
