'This is a culture': TikTok murder highlights Pakistan's unease with women online
ISLAMABAD - Since seeing thousands of comments justifying the recent murder of a teenage TikTok star in Pakistan, Sunaina Bukhari is considering abandoning her 88,000 followers.
"In my family, it wasn't an accepted profession at all, but I'd managed to convince them, and even ended up setting up my own business," she said.
Then last week, Sana Yousaf was shot dead outside her house in the capital Islamabad by a man whose advances she had repeatedly rejected, police said.
News of the murder led to an outpouring of comments under her final post -- her 17th birthday celebration where she blew out the candles on a cake.
In between condolence messages, some blamed her for her own death: "You reap what you sow" or "it's deserved, she was tarnishing Islam".
Yousaf had racked up more than a million followers on social media, where she shared her favourite cafes, skincare products and traditional shalwar kameez outfits.
TikTok is wildly popular in Pakistan, in part because of its accessibility to a population with low literacy levels. On it, women have found both audience and income, rare in a country where fewer than a quarter of the women participate in the formal economy.
But as TikTok's views have surged, so have efforts to police the platform.
Pakistani telecommunications authorities have repeatedly blocked or threatened to block the app over what it calls "immoral behaviour", amid backlash against LGBTQ and sexual content.
TikTok has pledged to better moderate content and blocked millions of videos that do not meet its community guidelines as well as at the request of Pakistan authorities.
After Yousaf's murder, Bukhari, 28, said her family no longer backs her involvement in the industry.
"I'm the first influencer in my family, and maybe the last," she told AFP.
- 'Fear of being judged' -
Only 30 percent of women in Pakistan own a smartphone compared to twice as many men (58 percent), the largest gap in the world, according to the Mobile Gender Gap Report of 2025.
"Friends and family often discourage them from using social media for fear of being judged," said a statement from the Digital Rights Foundation (DRF).
In southwestern Balochistan, where tribal law governs many rural areas, a man confessed to orchestrating the murder of his 14-year-old daughter earlier this year over TikTok videos that he said compromised her honour.
In October, police in Karachi, in the south, announced the arrest of a man who had killed four women relatives over "indecent" TikTok videos.
These murders each revive memories of Qandeel Baloch, dubbed Pakistan's Kim Kardashian and one of the country's first breakout social media stars whose videos shot her to fame.
After years in the spotlight, she was suffocated by her brother.
AFP | Farooq NAEEM
Violence against women is pervasive in Pakistan, according to the country's Human Rights Commission, and cases of women being attacked after rejecting men are not uncommon.
"This isn't one crazy man, this is a culture," said Kanwal Ahmed, who leads a closed Facebook group of 300,000 women to share advice.
"Every woman in Pakistan knows this fear. Whether she's on TikTok or has a private Instagram with 50 followers, men show up. In her DMs. In her comments. On her street," she wrote in a post.
In the fifth-most-populous country in the world, where 60 percent of the population is under the age of 30, the director of digital rights organisation Bolo Bhi, Usama Khilji says "many women don't post their profile picture, but a flower, an object, very rarely their face".
"The misogyny and the patriarchy that is prevalent in this society is reflected on the online spaces," he added.
A 22-year-old man was arrested over Yousaf's murder and is due to appear in court next week.
At a vigil in the capital last week, around 80 men and women gathered, holding placards that read "no means no".
"Social media has given us a voice, but the opposing voices are louder," said Hira, a young woman who joined the gathering.
The capital's police chief, Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi, used a press conference to send a "clear message" to the public.
"If our sisters or daughters want to become influencers, professionally or as amateurs, we must encourage them," he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
an hour ago
- The Citizen
Assault on Iran signals ‘oil crisis'
The US's strike in Iran could lead to increased transport charges and hiked fuel costs. Israeli security forces and first responders gather at the site of an Iranian strike that hit a residential neighbourhood in the Ramat Aviv area in Tel Aviv on June 22, 2025. AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP The last time there was a crisis this serious in the Middle East, during the Arab-Israel war of 1973, the rest of the world suffered in what is now called the 'oil crisis', as Arab oil producers reduced supplies and petrol stations everywhere ran out of fuel. In South Africa, that manifested as draconian restrictions, including a ban on fuel sales after hours and over weekends, as well as a reduction in the national speed limit from 120km/h to 80km/h to conserve fuel. When US President Donald Trump ordered the B-2 bombers to destroy Iran's supposed nuclear weapon development facilities, he set the world on what might well be a similar trajectory to 1973. This time, even if the Arab oil producers don't announce an embargo, Iran may forcibly close the Strait of Hormuz, through which most oil flows… or the Houthi rebels in Yemen may resume attacks on merchant shipping and US Navy vessels in and around the Red Sea. Those actions will have knock-on effects in increased transport charges and hiked fuel costs, which will, again, be felt around the world. Worryingly, too, Russian Deputy President Dmitri Lebedev said 'a number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads'. That would ratchet tensions up to a shade less than World War III in the minds of many people. It also seems that despite the ongoing Israeli assault on Iran, Tehran is far from finished… and if you doubt that, look at the damage being visited on Israel. How long the Israeli population, concentrated as it is in a very small area compared to the size of Iran, will be able to tolerate the situation, remains to be seen. Finally, will the US bombs bring the Iranians to the negotiating table – or will they harden their resolve to fight on? NOW READ: Did the US strikes succeed, and how will Iran respond?
IOL News
7 hours ago
- IOL News
French police probe fake Disneyland 'marriage' with nine-year-old
Two people were held for questioning in the case, which initially caused alarm when staff alerted police on Saturday that it could have concerned an illegal child marriage. Image: Disneyland/Facebook French police were on Sunday probing the circumstances of a bizarre stunt at Disneyland outside of Paris, with a group of adults suspected of hiring the theme park and paying hundreds of extras to stage a fake marriage for a nine-year-old Ukrainian girl. Two people were held for questioning in the case, which initially caused alarm when staff alerted police on Saturday that it could have concerned an illegal child marriage. But investigators now believe that the so-called "marriage" was staged, with the girl's mother reportedly saying that she wanted her to feel like a Disney "princess" for the day. "The event turned out to be a staged event, with the guests themselves extras" invited to be part of the stunt, deputy prosecutor Alexandre Verney said. "So it wasn't a wedding, but a staged wedding filmed with around a hundred extras. They hired Disneyland Paris, pretending it was a real wedding," he told AFP. Four people were arrested and taken into custody, and the questioning of two of them -- suspected of fraud and money laundering -- was extended on Saturday evening. They are the so-called "groom" who is believed to be behind the event, 22 years old and "presumed to be British", and a Latvian woman, 24, said a source close to the case. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ However, the other two people detained -- a 41-year-old Ukrainian woman, and a 55-year-old Latvian man -- were released. The investigations, including a medical examination of the nine-year-old girl, a Ukrainian national, found that "she had not been subjected to any violence or coercive acts," the prosecutor's office said. According to the Le Parisien daily, which first reported the incident, a man had several weeks previously hired the Disneyland Paris complex for a sum of 130,000 euros ($150,000) for several hours before it opened to the public. Staff were astonished when the nine-year-old appeared wearing high heels on Saturday morning, barely able to stand in the elaborate footwear, and they alerted the authorities, it said. The paper said the man who organised the event had submitted false documents concerning his identity and Disneyland filed a complaint. Hundreds of extras were bussed in to play the part of the guests, it said, while the girl's mother told investigators she wanted to organise a "day worthy of a princess" for her daughter. AFP
IOL News
8 hours ago
- IOL News
US says strikes 'devastated' Iran's nuclear program
Smoke rises above buildings in Tehran following an Israeli strike Image: AFP Unprecedented US strikes have wrecked Iran's nuclear program, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday, though other officials cautioned the extent of damage at the three sites was unclear. Iran's leaders struck a defiant tone and vowed to respond, while an advisor to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed their stockpile of enriched uranium was not destroyed. International concern intensified over the surprise attacks deepening conflict in the Middle East after Israel launched its bombing campaign against Iran earlier this month. President Donald Trump said he wanted peace and urged Iran to end the conflict after he launched massive overnight strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordo, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz. "We devastated the Iranian nuclear program," Hegseth told a Pentagon press briefing, adding that the operation "did not target Iranian troops or the Iranian people." Standing beside Hegseth, top US general Dan Caine said "it would be way too early for me to comment on what may or may not still be there." "Initial battle damage assessments indicate that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction." Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading Protests in Tehran People gathered Sunday in the center of Tehran to protest against US and Israeli attacks, waving flags and chanting slogans, state TV showed. Trump claimed total success for the operation in an address to the nation hours after the attack, and Vice President JD Vance followed up on Sunday morning. "We know that we set the Iranian nuclear program back substantially last night, whether it's years or beyond," he told ABC. But he also suggested Iran still had its highly enriched uranium. "We're going to work in the coming weeks to ensure that we do something with that fuel," he said. "They no longer have the capacity to turn that stockpile of highly enriched uranium to weapons grade uranium." In Tehran, AFP journalists said aircraft had roared over the city for the first time since Israel's initial attacks. "Even if nuclear sites are destroyed, game isn't over, enriched materials, indigenous knowledge, political will remain," Khamenei advisor Ali Shamkhani said in a post on X. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian vowed that the United States would "receive a response" to attacks during a phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to the official IRNA news agency. Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told CNN that there were clear signs of the hit on Fordo. But "no one, neither us (or) nobody else could be able to tell you how much it has been damaged," he said. The IAEA said it had not detected any increase in radiation levels at the nuclear sites and Tehran said Sunday there were no signs of contamination. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prayed for Trump at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Sunday, after hailing the strikes as a move that would "change history." Retaliation risk The Israeli military was also checking the results of the US raid on the deeply buried nuclear facility in Fordo, with a spokesman saying it was "too soon" to know if Iran had removed enriched uranium from the site. The main US strike group was seven B-2 Spirit bombers that flew 18 hours from the American mainland to Iran, Caine said. In response to the attack, which used over a dozen massive "bunker buster" bombs, Iran's armed forces said they targeted multiple sites in Israel including Ben Gurion airport, the country's main international gateway near Tel Aviv. Israeli rescuers said at least 23 people were wounded. In Jerusalem, Claudio Hazan, a 62-year-old software engineer, said he hoped the US intervention would hasten an end to the Iran-Israel war. "Israel by itself would not stop... and it would take longer," he said. At least nine members of the Revolutionary Guards were killed Sunday in Israeli attacks on central Iran, local media reported, as fighting between the two foes continued. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, which had been mediating Iran-US nuclear talks, criticized the US move and called for de-escalation. The leaders of France, Germany and Britain on Sunday urged Iran "not to take any further action that could destabilise the region." Following his address, Trump warned Iran against retaliation. Iran and its proxies have previously attacked US military bases in Iraq and elsewhere in the region. Iran's Huthi allies in Yemen on Sunday repeated their threat to resume attacks in the Red Sea if Washington joined the war, saying they were ready to target US ships and warships. The US president had stepped up his rhetoric against Iran since Israel first struck the country on June 13, repeating his insistence it could never have nuclear weapons. AFP
