A Woman Like Her: The Story Behind the Honor Killing of a Social Media Star

A Woman Like Her by Sanam Maher is a remarkable feat of investigative journalism that illuminates the controversial life and shocking death of a young Pakistani woman known as Qandeel Baloch.

Baloch loved to sing and dance. A natural performer, she sought social media stardom as a way to escape the restrictions imposed on women in her Southern Punjab community. Through her Facebook posts, she flaunted her idealized self: a sultry, free-spirited beauty willing to shock audiences with sexually explicit videos, all in the hope of garnering the sort of attention that might lead to fame and fortune. Condemned by religious leaders for offending the Islamic sensibilities of Pakistan, Baloch was considered enough of a threat to her family and country's honor that her murder in 2016 was treated as a cause for celebration.

Maher is interested in the collision of Pakistan's ultra-conservative traditions with the unfettered access to modernity that the Internet promises a generation restless for change. For women like Baloch, social media opened up a world of possibilities but also of danger. The online space is dominated by men and harassment of women is rampant, according to the Digital Rights Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching women across Pakistan how to protect themselves online.

Pakistani journalist Maher's courageous reporting for her first book deserves recognition. She entered into male dominated and often hostile spaces--despite pushback--to pursue the truth behind Baloch's meteoric rise and tragic fall. The result is a fascinating, richly detailed tribute to the fearlessness with which Baloch pursued her dreams. --Shahina Piyarali, writer and reviewer

Powered by: Xtenit