If there was every any doubt about the patriarchy and misogyny that continue to haunt our society, CCTV footage captured from Faisalabad shows the gruesome murder of 18-year-old Mehwish who refused to marry her co-worker and thus challenged the very confines that continue to oppress women, and paid the ultimate price for it.
Mehwish worked in a bus company in Faisalabad, where her co-worker Abrar worked as a guard. Abrar approached Mehwish with a proposal which the latter refused, leading to her murder in cold blood five days ago.
The CCTV footage captures the incident in its entirety and provides a first-hand experience into the struggles Pakistani women face on a daily basis.
In the video, Abrar approaches Mehwish just as she is about to leave for home after work. He corners her and exchanges a few words with her at gunpoint, after which he opens fire and kills Mehwish.
The murderer then attempted to escape the crime scene, but his and Mehwish’s coworkers over-powered him and handed him to the police. A first information report (FIR) was registered at the Sargodha Road police station, Faisalabad. Mehwish’s story is made all the more tragic considering she was the sole bread-winner in her family, after the death of her father. Mehwish’s tragic fate, moreover, highlights how class and gender forces intertwine to oppress countless women in our society.
Published in Daily Times, June 16th 2018.
