The Honor Killing of Qandeel Baloch

Abstract

Qandeel Baloch, a controversial Pakistani social media star, was killed by her brother in 2016 in the name of “honor.” Using Qandeel’s honor killing as a case study, this chapter analyzes honor killings to gain a better understanding of what they are, their prevalence, and the factors attributable to them, particularly in South Asia. The chapter also examines the role that social media has played globally in giving marginalized populations a voice and platform online while simultaneously making them more vulnerable to cyberbullying, harassment, and, in Qandeel’s case, even death. Through contextual and empirical accounts, the chapter cautions readers to not think of honor killings as a faith-based problem confined to a particular geographical region but, rather, as a larger epidemic that is strongly rooted in a culture that persists, to a small extent, in developed countries as well.