Brutal Murder Scares Pakistan: Can Social Media Bring Justice to Women?

The murder of Noor Mukadam in Islamabad sparked an unprecedented movement on the internet.

She fights against systematic gender-based violence.

• A terrifyingly brutal upper-class murder shook Pakistan in the summer of 2021.

• A new movement against violence against women broke out on social media - but there are still systemic problems.

• This article is available in German for the first time - it was first published on September 21, 2021 by the magazine "Foreign Policy *".

Islamabad - The murder of a 27-year-old woman in Islamabad in July sparked unprecedented turmoil in Pakistan for months. Noor Mukadam was the daughter of a former diplomat, and the alleged murderer, Zahir Jaffer, is the son of a business tycoon. Jaffer and his parents, who are charged with covering up the crime, are in custody pending trial. The assassination has caused ongoing outrage on social media. Women - and many men too - have found an outlet there for their frustration at the systematic gender-based violence in Pakistan.

In September the Mukadam case was referred to a special court for speedy proceedings. New evidence against Jaffer and his family emerges almost daily, including a police report suggesting that his parents knew about the murder. Some of Mukadam's friends organized a protest outside the Islamabad Supreme Court to seek justice while the court considered whether to release Jaffer's parents on bail. Your petition was ultimately rejected.

Meanwhile, Jaffer and his family are already threatened with a lawsuit on social media - online activists have made it clear that they will not accept an unfair court verdict.

The Mukadam assassination sparked a massive reaction in Pakistani civil society that could have repercussions on women's rights.

In 2018, the #MeToo movement sparked some change in Pakistan, but libel lawsuits against victims have slowed progress.

The Mukadam case sparked a similar feminist movement with a broader call for social justice.

Mukadam Murder Case: Can Social Media Bring Justice to Women in Pakistan?

The killing of Noor Mukadam has drawn more attention to other incidents of gender-based violence in Pakistan. After the news of the July 20 assassination, the #justicefornoor movement quickly gained momentum. A week-long Instagram campaign organized by Zahra Haider, a feminist activist and family friend of Mukadam, gave women a platform to display the abuse they have been subjected to by powerful men. The case is now constantly being reported on the official accounts of Mukadam's family and their legal team.

For those who have spoken up on social media, Mukadam's murder appears to show that women are nowhere safe in Pakistan. The case differs from many other cases of violence against Pakistani women in that it occurred in an upscale neighborhood of the capital and that both the perpetrator and the victim came from elite circles. The act was also particularly brutal: Mukadam was beheaded and an autopsy confirmed that she was raped and tortured before she died. According to experts, both factors have likely added momentum to the new movement.

Mukadam's wealth and connections seem to have raised awareness of her case. “It is not a rich man who kills a poor woman. A rich, educated man kills the daughter of a former diplomat, ”says Nighat Dad, founder of the Pakistani Foundation for Digital Rights. “Mukadam's death sparked conversations in civil society and society at large.” While law and order may prevail for a Pakistani upper class woman, women from other classes of society, especially in rural areas, rarely receive the same feedback. It is significant that it took such a high profile case to spark a broader conversation about class - and how it shapes women's perceptions of safety.

Violence against women in Pakistan: Abuse not reported for fear of social stigma

Violence against women is widespread in Pakistan.

In the latest Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum, the country ranks 153rd out of 156 countries, and a recent report from Human Rights Watch found that incidents of domestic violence increased by 200 percent in the past year and the situation has changed after the onset of the coronavirus - Lockdowns made worse in March.

However, many cases of sexual harassment and gender-based violence are not reported.

In July, the Pakistani Senate passed a draft law on domestic violence for Islamabad, defining it as emotional, verbal and psychological abuse. The bill would be a big step forward, but it is currently in legal limbo. The law was withdrawn when Babar Awan, an adviser to the prime minister on parliamentary affairs, submitted it to the Islamic Ideology Council for review. Some critics claimed that the law was a "conspiracy to destroy the institution of the family in Pakistan".

A big reason why abuse is not reported in Pakistan is the stigma attached to it.

Many women who have experienced domestic violence are afraid to file a complaint.

Sometimes this silence is reinforced by the family and victim accusations are common.

This can be exacerbated by social class: Pakistani men from the elite class consider themselves above the law, says Haider, a friend of the Mukadams family.

Power, status and money can enable people to evade the consequences of alleged crime.

Violence against women in Pakistan: no accountability "if the perpetrator belongs to the privileged class"

Justice in Pakistan remains a pipe dream for most survivors of gender-based violence. The non-governmental organization War Against Rape estimates that less than three percent of cases of sexual assault and rape result in conviction. It doesn't always stay that way with those who do. In 2016, then law student Khadija Siddiqi was stabbed by the son of an influential lawyer. Her attacker was convicted and released before serving his five-year prison term. "There is a lack of accountability when the perpetrator belongs to the privileged class," says Siddiqi.

Weeks after the murder of Noor Mukadam, people are still posting expressions of solidarity and promising to continue the fight for justice and to “stand against the voices that want to silence us”.

For survivors like Siddiqi, such online support is very encouraging.

She has exhausted her legal options against her attacker.

Still, she said that she felt seen and heard when she saw others advocate for her online.

When Siddiqi's attacker was released, online public opinion heated up even before making a public statement.

Similarly, according to Haider, the people “humanized and internalized” what happened to Mukadam and show their compassion.

The Mukadam assassination sparked an online revolution and Pakistani leaders are slowly paying attention, as the recent case of TikTok influencer Ayesha Akram shows.

In August, Akram was molested by a crowd of hundreds of men while filming in a public park in Lahore, Pakistan.

The attack was captured on video and people reacted quickly on social media.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned what happened to Akram and said he was "ashamed and sad".

Gender-Based Violence: Lack of Political Will in Pakistan - Gaps in the Judiciary

However, even if digital platforms draw attention to cases of gender-based violence, progress could prove short-lived. The lack of political will is evident as senior Pakistani officials are more concerned about global public relations than fighting violent crimes against women. Although authorities made 104 arrests in the Akram case, 98 suspects were released for lack of evidence. According to digital rights activist Dad, authorities now know how to deal with online printing and reassure the public. "You submit the first information report and silence the public, but the laws are still not being implemented at the structural level". "There is a lot of performative political behavior",she says.

Internet outrage over Mukadam's killing ultimately exposes the loopholes in the Pakistani judicial system and systemic patterns of oppression against women: an inefficient police force, limited domestic violence laws and a lack of action by senior officials. May justice prevail for Mukadam and her family. However, some activists are skeptical that this will result in broader change for women across Pakistan. Not everyone has the resources or the support network to lead a successful process. "Many of these cases end with a compromise that does not have a deterrent effect on society," says Siddiqi.

However, the response to the crime has fostered a sense of community among women that has not existed before and has set an example in the fight against the deeply rooted problem of sexual violence in Pakistan.

That clearly caught the attention of government officials.

When they translate this dynamic into policy action, change can take place.

Hajira Maryam

Hajira Maryam

 is an independent journalist and a graduate of Modern South Asian Studies from Oxford University.

Her work focuses on South Asia and Turkey.

Twitter: @hajiramirza

This article was first published in English on September 21, 2021 in the magazine “ForeignPolicy.com” - as part of a cooperation, a translation is now also available to readers of the IPPEN.MEDIA portals.

* Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.

+

Foreign Policy Logo

© ForeignPolicy.com

Read also: