On 30 November, Al Jazeera reported that in connection to the “honour killing” of an 18-year-old girl in the Kohistan region of northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the girl’s father and two of her uncles were arrested. A local district police officer explained that the arrest was “on charges of killing his own daughter” on 26 November. The girl’s father and two uncles had allegedly acted in response to viral photos on social media, which showed the girl dancing with local boys who had their arms around her.
 
The cultural landscape of Kohistan
The region of Kohistan is known for its highly conservative nature and the influence of tribal customs, particularly through jirgas(local council), play a pivotal role in shaping community perceptions. These jirgas have previously issued death sentences against women for “violations” of tradition. This has led to an increase in the number of honour killings carried out by families in recent years, who claim that their actions are “honourable” as they protect their families from the alleged dishonour brought on by women having interactions with unrelated men. One of the biggest cases from the area is the honour killing that happened in 2011 when five Kohistani women were filmed cheering on a man who was dancing and was killed subsequently.
 
The role of social media
Although jirgas have been linked to many of these honour killings, it was unclear whether the incident of 26 November had something to do with them. A district police officer of Kohistan, Mukhtar Ahmed Tanoli, stated: “We cannot claim this was due to a jirga which may have ordered the killing. That is not what happened here.” This is because cybercrime officials at Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency concluded that the social media images were digitally altered from images of another couple. The father of the boy who was also in the photo reiterated the same, saying that he was not aware of any tribal council ordering the murder.
 
Legal frameworks and enforcement challenges
The 2011 case, which not only resulted in the death of the five women but also the murder of four of the brothers of the involved man, led to an outcry for stricter laws. Thus in 2016, legislative changes were made, mandating life sentences for perpetrators. However, human rights groups claim that these laws are still not strong enough to achieve their purpose. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in 2022 released a report, which highlighted that out of the 384 reported murders targeting women, more than 100 were from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone. The continued influence of tribal councils and societal reluctance to break from deeply ingrained norms.
 
References
Abid Hussain, “Pakistani girl killed after photos with boy’s arm around her go viral,” Al Jazeera, 30 November 2023
Frances Mao, Kelly Ng & Muhammad Zubair, “Pakistan: Woman killed after being seen with man in viral photo,” BBC, 28 November 2023
Nisar Ahmed Khan, “Another Kohistan girl killed on jirga’s orders,” Dawn, 27 November 2023