Her brother, Waseem Azeem, was arrested Sunday.
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The Human Rights Commission cites “domestic disputes, alleged illicit relations, or exercising the right of choice in marriage” as the main motivations for such killings, but cases such as Baloch’s, in which a man believes that other actions of a female relative are somehow “dishonoring” the family name, also are alarmingly frequent. Qandeel, 26, was killed on Saturday by her brother for what he said was “dishonouring” the family by posting risque videos and posts on Facebook.
However, the parents of the social media star made it known that after an argument, she was strangled to death by her brother.
Social media celebrity Qandeel Baloch, who was strangled in what appeared to be an “honor killing”, in Multan, Pakistan, is pictured in a selfie on her Facebook page. “Like the maulvi issue”, he said, in a apparent reference to a recent controversy surrounding Qandeel’s selfies with Mufti Qavi. “It was around 10:45 pm when I gave her a tablet… and then killed her”. “It was my wish since I was a child to become something, to be able to stand on my own two feet, to do something for myself”, she said.
Waseem said he acted alone.
“Her murder…must serve as an impetus for legislators to renew demands for legislation to protect women who are threatened under false notions of ‘honor'”.
Qandeel’s father, Muhammad Azeem said in a First Information Report that his daughter came to Multan from Karachi to celebrate Eid with the family.
About Baloch’s provocative lifestyle in a conservative society, Miss Pakistan World said: “Baloch was no different than Kim Kardashian, and everyone and anyone can live howsoever they want to”.
Filmmaker Sharmeemn Obaid-Chinoy, whose documentary on such killings won an Oscar earlier this year, slammed Baloch’s murder as symptomatic of an “epidemic” of violence against women in Pakistan.
She had shot to fame and notoriety through social media postings that would be considered tame by Western standards but were seen as scandalous by many in deeply conservative Pakistan.
Baloch’s murder is one of thousands of honor killings committed each year.
Baloch was buried early Sunday near her family home in southern Punjab.
The killing sent shockwaves across Muslim Pakistan and triggered an outpouring of grief on social media for Baloch, whose real name was Fauzia Azeem.
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In her final Facebook post on July 4 she wrote how she was trying to “change the typical orthodox mindset of people”, and thanked her supporters for “understanding the message i (sic) try to convey through my bold posts and videos”. Women are subjected to honour killing everyday.
