dotsandpoints:

I really needed to take a break from mobile blogging and get on my laptop to write this. Qandeel Baloch has passed away. 

Pakistani women will divorce themselves from her passing away and uphold that internalized misogyny that has been hammered into all of our heads since birth. They may even laugh or tease about it because they are not Qandeel. They are not Qandeel because they think they are religiously and morally superior. They will feel pity and shame for Qandeel and “girls like her” and will go on to say that if they behaved this way or dressed like that, they wouldn’t be shot to death or strangled. 

Dear Pakistani women, the way that men viewed Qandeel Baloch (who was also a Pakistani woman among you), is the same way men view you. No matter how much or how little you cover yourself up, no matter how quiet or loud you are… those comments from Pakistani men on Qandeel’s facebook page are not just about her, they are about you too. They are orders. They are warnings. Stop thinking you are not a part of this. You can’t just say that Qandeel died because of the way she dressed or acted and act like Pakistani men don’t say the same stuff about you on her comments section. The situation faced by the Pakistani trans community is even more detrimental. 

As for the reactions from Pakistani men… I really have no comments because unfortunately for you this is entertainment. It is an opportunity for you to debate which “type” of women deserve to live and be respected. It is a national past-time. It is once again an opportunity for you to bark and shout “See ladies! Behave accordingly otherwise this may happen to you!” It is another time for the clergy of Pakistan to get together and act as a soapbox on women’s issues.