In a suspected case of honour killing in Pakistan’s Punjab province, a 21-year-old woman was allegedly shot dead by her brother for choosing dancing and modelling as a career against the wishes of her family. The deceased, Sidra, a native of Renala Khurd Okara, 130 km from provincial capital Lahore, was reportedly modelling for a local clothing brand and danced in theatres of Faisalabad city, police said as reported by PTI.
Though Sidra’s parents forced her to quit the profession as they believe her career was against the family tradition, she did not pay heed to them and continued with the job.
The incident occurred when Sidra had come home from Faisalabad to celebrate Eid with her family last week, added police. On Thursday, Sidra had an argument with her parents and brother Hamza over her career choice and the issue of decency in the profession. They also allegedly beat her for insisting to stick with dancing, PTI reported. Following the incident, Hamza later opened fire on Sidra, killing her on the spot, officials said. Meanwhile, police have registered a murder case against Hamza and claimed to have arrested him, who confessed to having committed the crime.
A police officer, Fraz Hamid told PTI that Hamza got angry with Sidra after one of their relatives forwarded a video of her dance performance on his mobile phone. Later, in a fit of rage, he shot his sister dead. Earlier in February this year, a 19-year-old female dancer identified as Ayesha was shot dead by her ex-husband in Faisalabad of Pakistan.