An 18-year-old girl was allegedly killed by her family in Pakistan’s Kohistan region after village elders sentenced her to death for dancing with a boy in a viral video.
The incident, being probed as a potential honor killing, occurred on Sunday, November 26, in the village of Barsharyal.
While her friend also seen in the video that was sentenced to death was rescued by the police, Masood Khan, deputy superintendent of police, stated,
”They shot dead one of them while police rescued the second one. We have launched an investigation to trace those who killed the girl and who either advised or convened a jirga (the village elders) and sentenced her to death.”
The rescued girl, returned home with her father, was deemed safe by a senior civil judge. However, concerns for her safety persist, with human rights activist Dr. Farzana Bari stating she believed that she would likely be murdered sooner or later and remains under serious threat, continuing that,
”She has probably been misguided by her family. Knowing the kind of mindset that exists in the area, I think this girl would be killed.”
The boys from the video are in hiding, fearing reprisals. As per local tradition, the jirga had declared those who appeared in the images circulating on social media as ‘chor’ (thieves) and issued a decree for their killing.
Caretaker Chief Minister Syed Irshad Hussain Shah ordered the arrest of those responsible, noting the involvement of male relatives, as public images of women are considered taboo in the area.
| DailyMail
