The “barbaric” murder of Noor Mukaddam, the daughter of a former ambassador has triggered outrage across Pakistan and raised questions over the safety and security of women in the country.
Noor Mukaddam’s murder reignited a debate on violence against women as thousands of people took to social media to demand justice, recalling other femicide victims whose deaths sparked less furore, including at least two killed in the recent past.
The victim’s father, Shaukat Mukaddam, has served as Pakistan’s ambassador to South Korea and Kazakhstan.
TRT World reported that Mukaddam, 27, was found murdered in a house in an upscale neighbourhood in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on July 20. Police, however, arrested a suspect, Zahir Jaffer, a friend of the victim, at the scene later that day.
“Another day. Another woman brutally killed. Another hashtag. Another trauma. Another (likely) unsolved case. Another trigger. Another fear fest. Another rage roar. Another eid. ‘Protection of women’ bill oppose kernay walon ko mubarik,” a netizen wrote on Twitter.
“Flagbearers of change, this is your acid test – do what it takes to ensure that no other Saima, Quratulain or Noor is the victim of our collective apathy, again,” tweeted a journalist.
Taking to Twitter, Pakistan Human Rights Minister, Shireen Mazari said: “The barbaric murder of young woman, Noor, in Islamabad is yet another horrifying reminder that women have been and are brutalized and killed with impunity.”
“This must end. We are committed to ensuring no one is above the law & culprits having influence & power cannot simply ‘get away’,” she said.
On Saturday, Islamabad police arrested the parents and household staff of suspect Zahir Zakir Jaffer — accused of torturing and brutally killing Noor Mukadam — for “hiding evidence and being complicit in the crime”, Dawn reported.
