Police in Quetta, Pakistan, arrested a man this week who reportedly confessed to killing his daughter because he did not approve of her publishing videos on the Chinese social media application TikTok.
Hira Anwar, whose age has been reported variously as between 13 and 15, was born in America and reportedly lived in New York for most of her life before her father, Anwar ul-Haq, moved the family back to Quetta. The Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported Wednesday that Anwar was an American citizen and her father, who lived in America for an estimated 25 years and worked for Uber, is also believed to hold American citizenship. The newspaper did not specify if the move back to Pakistan was related to extensive evidence, including ul-Haq’s confession, that he was dismayed by his daughter making “objectionable” content online.
Ul-Haq reportedly told police initially that random gunmen had attacked him and his daughter but ultimately relented and admitted that he had pulled the trigger.
“We are probing all aspects, including ‘honour’ killing,” a senior police investigator was quoted as saying of the crime.
Serious Crimes Investigation Wing (SCIW) Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Zohaib Mohsin was quoted as stating, “Our investigation so far has found that the family had an objection to her dressing, lifestyle and social gathering.”
“Honor killing” is the murder of someone, usually a girl or woman, by a family member who feels that their behavior is bringing shame to the entire family. Honor killings are particularly prevalent among Muslim families in Pakistan, enabled by radical clerics encouraging male relatives to kill their siblings and daughters and by a judicial system that seldom acts to punish the perpetrators. Among the reasons killers have offered police throughout the years have been women failing to wear hijab or otherwise being “immodest,” girls or women refusing to married their arranged groom, marrying an unauthorized groom, or being raped and accused of consensual adultery.
Some Pakistani government statistics indicate that “honor killings” have become more common in the past half-decade, even as legislators passed laws intended to close loopholes used to set killers free. An “honor killing” of an American in exceedingly rare, however, even more so by another American, assuming U.S. officials confirm ul-Haq holds American citizenship.
The left-wing New York Times described Hira Anwar as an average New York teen before her family uprooted her to Pakistan and subsequently killed her, according to reports.
“Outside her home, she was a typical American teenager, laughing with friends, posting videos on TikTok and dreaming of a boundless future, the outlet reported. At home, “her parents, Pakistani immigrants who had settled in the United States over two decades ago, expected her to adhere to their cultural and religious values, which demanded modesty from women. To them, Hira’s bold, expressive online presence was a direct challenge.”
Of particular alarm in the New York Times article is the fact that ul-Haq is the father to two other daughters. The newspaper did not specify the status or whereabouts of the other daughters.
Hundreds of people, mostly girls and women, are “honor” killed in Pakistan annually. In a report on the phenomenon in December, Dawn cited government statistics showing 346 instances of “honor” killings from January to November 2024. The actual figure of people murdered for various reasons of shame is likely much higher, as the government puts little effort in capturing and punishing these criminals. Honor killings can decimate entire families, as in a case in November in which a man killed his mother, sister, sister-in-law, and niece, slitting their throats in response to their choice to use TikTok. The youngest victim, the killer’s niece, was 12.
“Where there is no certainty of punishment, and in fact impunity for even the most heinous offences, the existence of laws in itself doesn’t mean very much,” human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari told Dawn in December. “The mindset of offenders and society at large has not changed.”
Pakistani authorities feigned more interest in the “honor” killing horrors in 2016 following a particularly high-profile incident in which a man killed his sister, 26-year-old Qandeel Baloch, who had made a name for herself as a social media personality. Baloch was often referred to as the “Kim Kardashian” of Pakistan and posted risqué photos online and promoted feminist ideas.
Shortly before her brother killed her, Baloch was involved in a controversy in which she took a selfie with a high-ranking cleric, Mufti Abdul Qavi, and posted photos with him online. Baloch claimed that the cleric had consumed a soft drink in front of her, a violation of his Ramadan responsibilities at the time, and flirted with her. Qavi was demoted from his position on a panel that helps identify the position of the moon, key to Islamic religious practices.
Following his demotion, Baloch warned she would “reveal the real faces” of Islamic leaders.
“I am proud of what I did,” brother Waseem Baloch said after his murder. “Girls are born to stay home and follow traditions. My sister never did that.”
“I planned this after her scandal with the mufti and was waiting for the right time,” he added.
The Pakistani government passed a law after Baloch’s killing that made it impossible for the families of those killed to close criminal cases against killers by “forgiving” the killer, a common occurrence in Pakistan. The law attracted positive attention around the world, but ultimately did nothing for Baloch: a court acquitted her brother in 2022 after their family forgave him.
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