The honour killing story revealing the conflict between constitutional and tribal justice and the faultlines in Pakistani society.
When a mobile phone video goes viral showing four girls clapping while two boys dance in a remote village in Kohistan, rumours emerge that the local tribal jirga has ordered their killing because of the shame they have brought. The boys manage to flee into hiding and accuse the jirga of having murdered the girls.
Under pressure, the Supreme Court sends a fact-finding commission to the village to investigate. Calls are made for justice for the girls and an end to the jirga system. A court order is issued for the girls to be brought in front of a judge, dead or alive – a first in Pakistan legal history. But are the girls still alive?
The Kohistan Video Scandal reveals how digital technology is catalyzing the pace of conflict in many traditional societies, pitting old beliefs against modern views.
