Pakistani volunteers move the body of social media celebrity, Qandeel Baloch from her residence in Lahore on July 16, 2016.
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In the wake of that scandal, Baloch said she had received death threats and asked for Interior Ministry protection.
In Facebook posts, she spoke of trying to change “the typical orthodox mindset” of people in Pakistan.
Qandeel Baloch, 26, died when one of her six brothers strangled her to death as she slept in the family’s home in the province of Punjab, police said. Chief of Police Azhar Akram stated that she most likely was strangled by her own brother as what is being considered an “honor killing”.
“Apparently, it is an honour killing but further investigations would reveal the real motives behind this murder”. In a tweet from Thursday, she posted a photo of herself with the caption, “Life has taught me lessons in an early age…” “He had serious reservations regarding her pictures being circulated on social media”, Muhammad Azeem told reporters in Multan. “He escaped after strangling Qandeel”.
“Qandeel was killed by her brother over honour in Green Town area”, said regional police officer Sultan Azam when speaking to The Express Tribune. She also made headlines when she promised a strip tease if the Pakistan national cricket team won an worldwide match – the team lost.
Earlier this week Baloch had stirred up more controversy by releasing a kitschy music video on YouTube called “Ban”, which mocked some of the restrictions that she had been subjected to. Her weapons included social media pictures and videos of herself that, in this religiously and socially conservative nation, were considered highly provocative.
“Nida Kirmani, who teaches sociology at Lahore University, said: “[She was] a woman who was living life on her own terms she wasn’t afraid. she was fun, loud, bold brash and lovely – we would like to drown out those voices who think she deserved it because of the way she was behaving”.
Mufti Qavi was removed the committee that decides when Ramadan starts and ends by the government following the allegations. The freakish pairing led to frenzied media coverage and resulted in Qavis’s suspension from his post on one of Pakistan’s religious committees.
Qavi denied the allegations, saying he only met with her to discuss the teachings of Islam.
Hundreds of women are murdered every year in so-called honor killings, which are commonplace in Pakistan.
Baloch tightly controlled her narrative in the media.
Baloch, whose real name is Fouzia Azeem, made her way into the spotlight in 2014 with the video “How ’em looking”. “I believe in equality”.
“It’s time to bring a change because the world is changing”, she wrote.
Yet in Pakistan, her flirty antics were unusual, pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable of women in Pakistan.
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Others, however, could not hide their delight that she had been silenced.
