The Bride from Chitral – Huma’s Tragic Murder

 “Chitral man seeks inquiry into daughters’ murder”, “Chitral man kills woman, injures wife and mother-in-law”, “Suicide among married women in Chitral on the rise”, “Suicide: an emerging issue among married women in Chitral.” ^[1]

It is not uncommon to hear about stories of abuse, violence, and death when it comes to women- each day a different, far more gruesome than the previous one. But, even after being de-sensitized to the horrors of abuse legitimizing it as ‘an everyday occurrence’, roping in cultural conventions and old-age traditions as standard practice that should have been complied with, one cannot stop and wonder, what is happening to the women in Chitral? Why is the suicide rate in Chitral, even though Pakistan’s overall suicide trend decreased in the last few years with a marked decline from the years 2017 and onwards,^[2] persistently high, and what price are women paying at the hands of honor and traditions. The answers no one is willing to give and the horrors keep on piling up like that of the murder of Huma and her seven-month-old daughter.

Huma (24) belonged to the Chitral valley of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region and lived with her parents till her marriage, after which she moved to Chiniot, Punjab with her husband Shoaib. At the time of her marriage, she was not prepared for the horrors that were to ensue. Huma was allegedly the third wife of Shoaib, with existing allegations against him from neighbors regarding a history of abuse and even murder. It was alleged that Shoaib had murdered his first wife through electrocution and had constantly tortured` his second wife; who luckily escaped his clutches after divorcing him but Huma and her seven-month-old daughter could not and were met with a ghastly end. Huma and her infant daughter were murdered in cold blood; stabbed repeatedly with a sharp object- leading to their deaths on the spot while Shoaib fled the scene and a police chase began. Shoaib was apprehended, the murder weapon was confiscated and Shoaib was put behind bars and is currently on death row. The police also added that additional investigations will be carried out against the leveled allegations of the murder of his first wife.

Huma and her infant daughter were fortunate enough to at the very least, have their deaths avenged through legal proceedings but, not all women share the same luck. According to the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS 2017-18), 28 percent of women aged 15 to 49 had experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetimes. Huma’s murder is not an isolated case, but of an overlapping effect of three fractions, “marriage-abuse-suicide/murder.” Given the socio-economic conditions of Chitral, the marriages are seen as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the daughters of already financially vulnerable families, which turn out to be a sham. What follows is a life marred by violence and abuse, often leading to gruesome murders. Those who escape are welcomed with contempt; disregarding the family honor, which in turn end up in suicides- the reason for the high trends in Chitral.

Multiple factors have been brought to light by different studies probing into the factors that were at hand. A few factors were repetitive such as poverty, domestic violence, and most importantly, the enforcement of exploitative norms. Studies have concluded that the women who committed suicide, often lacked access to health care, food, and other essential requirements due to their financial dependence. Furthermore, most of the women’s spouses were uneducated, which increased the likelihood of violence against women. Some of the Chitrali culture’s stringent rules have kept women confined to their houses as they are considered a matter of family honor, therefore venturing outside and meeting strangers might jeopardize it.^[3] The same study also identified that women who committed suicide were also victims of violence, which had contributed to their despair. Relationship aspects of violence against women that contributed to their suicide included a lack of family support, in-law intervention, forced marriage, and extramarital affairs. There were also cases where the women were murdered by their husbands and were covered up as suicides and some cases were not even reported by the families of the victims.

Huma and her daughter’s case is one of the many cases of abuse and violence perpetrated against Chitrali women at the behest of economic and social vulnerability. Although Huma was brought justice, it certainly came at the expense of her life- something that can be circumvented if the women of Chitral, and women in Pakistan generally, are provided economic opportunities for financial independence and abhorrent, but normalized social praxis is curtailed. Gaps due to missing legislation about domestic violence should be covered through legislative reforms and enforced rigorously to ensure the safety and protection of women.

[1] Headlines from various news reports over the years

[2] Pakistan Suicide Rate 2000-2021. Available at, https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/PAK/pakistan/suicide-rate

[3] Ibid