Pakistan to close 'honour killing' loophole after Qandeel Baloch murder
Outspoken social media star was strangled to death by her brother earlier this month
Pakistan is set to close a loophole allowing people who commit so-called "honour killings" to go unpunished in the wake of the high-profile murder of Qandeel Baloch (pictured above).
The practice was outlawed more than a decade ago but the victim's family are legally allowed to pardon the killer and help them evade prosecution.
The planned legislation was announced by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's daughter, Maryam, an increasingly influential member of his party.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"We have finalised the draft law in the light of negotiations," she told Reuters. It could be put before parliament within a matter of weeks.
Baloch, a 26-year-old social media star, was killed by her brother, Waseem, in the Punjab province earlier this month. He confessed to strangling her to death while their parents were asleep upstairs because "girls are born to stay at home". He was "proud" of what he did, he added.
He has since been arrested and charged with crimes against the state, which means he cannot be pardoned even if his family forgives him for the murder.
Baloch was a household name in Pakistan for her "bold, unapologetic videos celebrating her sexuality". Her huge popularity exposed the "deeply ingrained misogyny and hypocrisy" that cuts across Pakistan, Shaista Aziz writes for the Globe and Mail.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
"[Pakistani men] watched her videos behind closed doors with glee, and then hissed and cursed her publicly for her so-called 'un-Islamic and filthy ways'," she says.
"In a country with reportedly one of the highest Google searches for pornography in the world, Ms. Baloch became the target for the self-proclaimed male and female moral and religious police."
More than 1,000 women were killed for "honour" in 2015, according to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. One woman reportedly had her throat slit by her brother after she was accused of talking to a man on the phone.
-
Political cartoons for January 25Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a hot economy, A.I. wisdom, and more
-
Le Pen back in the dock: the trial that’s shaking FranceIn the Spotlight Appealing her four-year conviction for embezzlement, the Rassemblement National leader faces an uncertain political future, whatever the result
-
The doctors’ strikesThe Explainer Resident doctors working for NHS England are currently voting on whether to go out on strike again this year
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
How Bulgaria’s government fell amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
Normalising relations with the Taliban in AfghanistanThe Explainer The regime is coming in from the diplomatic cold, as countries lose hope of armed opposition and seek cooperation on counterterrorism, counter-narcotics and deportation of immigrants
-
Pakistan: Trump’s ‘favourite field marshal’ takes chargeIn the Spotlight Asim Munir’s control over all three branches of Pakistan’s military gives him ‘sweeping powers’ – and almost unlimited freedom to use them
-
Femicide: Italy’s newest crimeThe Explainer Landmark law to criminalise murder of a woman as an ‘act of hatred’ or ‘subjugation’ but critics say Italy is still deeply patriarchal