All eyes are on a subordinate court in Islamabad, which is set to announce the verdict of the Noor Muqaddam murder case. The case has been in the spotlight since its inception for the circumstances in which she was killed, and later on an ensuing wave of hate against her launched by a certain section of society. May she get justice. Justice sometimes remains elusive in the cases where the deceased is a woman. In 2016, Pakistan’s first social media celebrity was killed by her very own brother on the pretext of honour. Qandeel Baloch was a star and has now been deemed a feminist icon for owning her body and not being afraid of society. She broke social taboos and expressed herself the way she wanted to. Her stardom, however, did not last long as she was soon strangled to death. Her brother wears this deed as a badge of valour and an honour that he bestowed upon his family.
The complex nature of Pakistan’s laws regarding honour killing and pardoning the murderer have allowed many to be out of prison and free in no time, if they are ever given a sentence in the first place. Qandeel’s murderer is one such case. At first, her parents demanded that her murderer be ‘shot on sight’. However later they said that they have pardoned their son for the murder of their daughter. At that time, however, the law regarding honour killing changed and it said that even if the relatives of the victim forgave the accused, the perpetrator would still face prison time. Here Qandeel’s father argued that this law came after he had forgiven his son, hence, it does not apply to them and therefore his son should be free.
The case went on for a while and now the Lahore High Court has acquitted Baloch’s murderer, stating that the murder was not an honour killing and since the victim’s mother had forgiven her murderer, her son and the victim’s brother, the courts could not make a case anymore. It is truly disappointing to see the courts giving such verdicts as it further reduces the morale of women living in this country. The court states that the earlier statement given by the accused in which he boasted about killing his sister cannot be used as evidence anymore. This clearly shows that it is very easy for those with power, money, and clout to bypass all barriers laid by the law and turn verdicts in their favour. This is why women are in danger in this country and this is why they demand justice but seldom get any. Instead, they are told that their demands are against religion and culture.
