The Sensational Life and Death of Qandeel Baloch
Sanam Maher
2018
Aleph Book
pp. 272
The book documents the life of Qandeel Baloch (Fouzia Aseem), Pakistan’s first social media star. Her life was truly sensational! The mystery surrounding her and the struggle against a world that does not just create physical and psychological barriers for her to continue her work, but also exploits and demeans her at every step.
Fouzia/Qandeel managed to break the shackles of socialisation to step out from a very constrained life to live on her own terms and be recognised by others. She lacked a strong mentor who could help her improve her work and probably also give her honest advice. What she also lacked was the street smartness that differentiated between the good, bad and ugly. She was smart enough to navigate the challenges that the world threw at her, but not smart enough to foresee where family, friends and foes used her for their own benefits. She was grossly misunderstood and reduced to being seen only as a ‘bad’ woman; a woman who used her sexuality to get famous, who overcame some of her inhibitions to challenge social norms of what ‘good’ women should be like.
It is because of the discomfort that she created in a strongly conservative society that goes all out to control women, that she eventually got killed, allegedly by her own brother. Honour killing, which the initial chapters of the book tell us, is considered so commonplace in her village that nobody bats an eyelid if a woman’s dead body is found. In such a world, where women are not allowed to dream, Fouzia, dared to dream what is still frowned upon. Patriarchy continues to teach men to openly derive pleasure from women’s presence as sources of sexual stimulation. It also continues to teach women that the onus of not becoming the objects of sexual desire is on them, using sexuality to their advantage is unthinkable. Fouzia in that sense is an inspiration for many women. However, it is important to note that she chose to play the rules of a masculine dominated game to her advantage. She did not attempt to change the rules. And till the time that happens, women in Pakistan, and other parts of the world, will continue to be dominated, exploited, and killed.
P.S. Happy Independence Day!