It was the eve of Eid-Ul-Adha, a time for celebrations across the Muslim world, a time where families and friends come together to feast. No one had seen it coming – the gruesome murder of a wealthy, young, educated female by her equally wealthy, young and educated boyfriend – all because of her refusal to accept his marriage proposal.
Noor Mukadam, the 27 year old daughter of an ambassador was tortured, stabbed and ultimately beheaded by her boyfriend, Zahir Jaffer, the 30 year old son of an influential family and a dual Pakistani – American national, in his upscale home in Islamabad, Pakistan. Were it not for the status of their respective families the case would have been buried in the ever mounting Pakistani crime statistics. The case sheds light on a system which is in dire need of reform, a system which to date has repeatedly failed its female victims.
Elitism and misogyny have long ruled in a country where the rich have become accustomed to getting away with murder by paying off the poor in the form of blood money. In the case of Zahir Jaffer, who had a chequered history of drug and alcohol abuse combined with mental health issues, his influential parents used their power to hide his vices and cover his missteps. They too have been arrested for aiding and abetting. However, Noor’s family and friends have the backing of the masses who are committed to getting #justiceforNoor. The US embassy has been quick to point out that they cannot help a citizen who has committed a crime on foreign soil. While the insanity plea has so far been decreed as a no go by the police who claim that the accused was of sound mind when arrested. Even though forensic evidence and a confession to the police all points to Jaffer as the killer, a verdict is yet to be handed down.
What is predominantly evident in this heartbreaking case is how badly changes in legislation are needed to protect women. Activists are using the case to appeal to the senate for a change in laws surrounding domestic violence, however such a change would require an approval from the all-male Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) – the same council which in 2016 proposed its own bill to allow men to “lightly beat” their wives. Women’s right activists fear that the council will reject the change in domestic violence laws, sending a message that violence against women is acceptable in Pakistani society.
A big part of the case remains murky, as Noor’s family have stated that she had called them to inform them that she was travelling to Lahore with friends for Eid, after which point contact was limited with authorities assuming that Jaffer had taken her phone away from her. This raises the question of transparency and intergenerational miscommunication. Not only do laws need to be changed, but there needs to be a change in the conservative mindset of the past generations. Maybe if Noor had felt comfortable telling them about her relationship with Zahir and could have been honest about where she was going, they would have been able to track her down and this murder could have been averted?
As Rafia Zakaria, A Pakistani feminist author and columnist puts it,
“The country cannot afford more Noor’s. There is a sense of collective trauma and the only deliverance is a kind of catharsis that we can’t do this anymore.”
However, with societal norms and a legal system stacked against them, what hope to women have in a country which has a history of mistreating their women?
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